Stand (Act 1): Conspiracy or Faith - Book 1 of Stand Series
by FrostSpear
Summary: Like combining thrills and morals with angels and demons? Spiritual conflict initiated by the legions of Hell and the hosts of Heaven will rise as the chosen ones of both realms will stand to defend their standards!
1. The Introduction

Hey guys! I, FrostSpear, the creator of the Second World Series, am writing to you another story, now considering the conflict of good and evil by the entities who are imbued with immense supernatural, spiritual and paranormal power: angels and demons. Demons, in most concepts, are evil, malevolent creatures or spirits in contrast to the angels that are good and benevolent ones. Angels have free will like us people, same with demons. Demons are like the obstacles to our faith, as angels act like the bridges. Much opposition, right? But what if two people who have opposing sides... meet each other? Will they fight to the death, or share the love? That's what my story, Stand, is.

I may not consider its genre a "dark fantasy", but since evil lurks the setting of this story, the presence of fear and lessons in life may be discovered IF you can analyze it well. Even if I AM the author of this Stand Series, I NEED YOUR HELP in making this story worthy for its "dark fantasy" genre with a "slice of life".

Want to know the contributors of Stand? Not just my co-creator, the contributors made me pumped up for this story. Even my classmates are contributors, too! Four classmates contributed a lot for this, and also with two ninth grade students, all in my Junior High Alma Mater. These mates helped me a lot though they shared bits of information and suggestions. The co-creator can possibly have cover artists for an official book cover, as my book cover is just a concept photo-edit from BeFunky. By the way, Stand has two co-creators - one of them is my classmate, the other one is also a co-creator of Second World Series.

The co-creator wants this to be informative, so I have to put something that can put you to either inspiration, fear, or thrills. Which is which? Also, be warned of some words and grammar that cannot understand you much, as archaic things come into the way.

Angels and demons can be the main entities just like men, BUT there are others lurking in the dark. Angels can be "fallen from grace", meaning fallen angels; or can be reapers, as I say "angels of death". There are even men who can choose sides, too: either go for the demons of Hell, or go for the angels of Heaven. Anyone can decide, but the decision MUST BE FINAL. Oh and by the way, even corpses who were "alive" but technically dead will be present!

Either anyone will stand for the conspiracies believed by other people, or faiths they had to their religion or god. Conspiracy or faith? If you can recall an oration entitled "The Two Standards" by Horacio de la Costa, S.J., it's all about conflicts between good and evil. In Christian sense, Christ or Satan. Well, there is even a "Satan" in my story.

To be honest, even if this is a critical story for me, I must confess that I am a Christian, Roman Catholic specifically. Despite its fanfiction vibe, there can be sorts of heresy and fraud in my story, and there can be people who cannot believe what it tells. Anyway, try to analyze what is telling you readers. Just try to analyze and find out if there are flaws and cliches. But don't try to judge the book by its cover, though. XD :P

Why I made Stand is I was impressed of Bible and dark fantasy games that involve angels and demons, especially "Diablo III" from Blizzard Entertainment. The aspects and attributes of both opposing entities made me try to find out which Stand entity fits its Diablo counterpart, though. I really like the game series' concepts; and along with Bible stories, that made me inspired to write this series. With this Stand book, are you ready to stand up for what you are and what you have?

By the way, the prologue!


	2. The Prologue

A procession by a priest and fifty-five devotees was held as all sang a sacred song, with each carrying a white candle and some carried a statue of a saint. All marched to the church as the bells slowly continued to ring. A clock showed exactly four in the morning, drizzled it with few lightning flashes.

A fifty-sixth devotee, carrying a flaming torch, sought the procession and crept to a chaparral dotting with trees, far from the church to see what's going on. But instead of the sacred song, he heard a whispering wind. Still holding the torch, he shivered himself. Looking around, he could see only trees. He only sighed, creeping slowly to a town where the procession was held. Looking left, looking right, saw he a shadow; not of himself but of another one. On his legs and knees he froze, seeing only trees and tall grasses, and walking slowly. Until erupted a scream to the town, as three knights on horseback galloped to the church. One knight looked down, seeing the flowing blood.

"Stop!" screamed the witnessing knight on horseback.

"Why?" asked another knight.

"Blood flowed and crossed this town. Someone hath died during the procession!"

"Well, we will follow the blood to find that victim! All ye shalt follow me!"

Three knights went to the chaparral, but cannot they find a corpse, not even a torch. A whispering wind was felt and heard.

"Whoever is the killer, thou shalt show to us now!" shouted a knight.

But nothing happened, still the area is silent, 'til neighed their horses and collapsed with the knights; all due to a sudden slash. Blood splashed over the knights' armor. This made the knights dismount and escape the chaparral, leaving their horses wounded and stained with blood.

Seeing a black silhouette, these knights rushed to the town.

"Could that be... a demon?" asked the knights, without the silhouette turning towards them.


	3. The First

The three knights, now standing by ourselves, sought to follow the mysterious being that wore a black hooded robe. That black entity slowly walked afar.

These knights sneaked towards the black-robed man.

"He hath not showed himself... What shall we do?" said a knight, in a low tone.

"I know not... but thou shalt be warned..." advised another knight in warning.

"But... why?" asked the third knight in distress.

The town was left in silence, but the black-robed man wandered further.

A whispering wind blew in the knights' path.

"That black robe... hath gone afar!" witnessed the first knight.

"And thou shalt all..." paused the second knight, as the three stopped sneaking.

On his right hand wielded the second knight an arming sword, blocking the other knights' way.

That whispering wind was heard.

A shadow appears but was blurred in the fog.

"What must we do now?" asked the third knight, shivering himself and slipping on the ground.

"...RUN!" screamed the running second knight, and followed the other knights to the shadow in the fog.

Nearing the shadow, these three knights were easily exhausted, gazing the same black-robed man.

"Thou must stay here. I will carry on to this." requested the first knight.

Now wielding his arming sword, the enraged first knight shouted in rage charging fast to slash the black-robed man.

The black-robed man turned to the first knight, but his face was still concealed. He quickly grabbed his black longsword and slashed the charging man in armor.

The first knight was blown by his slash, as the black-robed man unveiled his face in hood. His face and closed lips were completely covered with gore, his eyes red, and his black hair covering his forehead and left eye.

"Who... art... thou?" asked the retreating first knight trying to get up in place, still staring at the man.

The following dawn before sunrise, outside a feudal manor, a young, jolly, barefooted squire, wearing a red brigandine and brown trousers with a sword resting in a scabbard on his leg, rode on his trotting horse.

Then came at his left a loyal feudal lord, having a wide grey mustache and a grey beard, wearing a red robe decorated with golden ornaments, a black cape, and a pair of leather boots. He had his sword in his scabbard resting on the saddle of his trotting horse.

"Draven..." called the feudal lord to the squire.

"Sire..." responded Draven.

"I owe thee a favor, kid. Thou didst a good job grooming and feeding thy fellow knights' horses. Thy friend also polished the knights' swords."

"Sire... how dost thou know these things? It is all my routine with my friend, sire."

"Ah, so thou two hast a plan without being told by thy lord."

"Aye, sire."

The feudal lord patted Draven with his right hand, appreciating his nice deed.

"I will count on thee, Draven. An example of a future noble knight." praised he.

"And I will thank thee for that, sire." replied Draven.

As both horses trotted in the town, lots of shops were seen, with few shopkeepers in. Seeing a shop of fruits, two shopkeepers were bidden by Draven. One of the shopkeepers was a flat-chested, green-haired, light-skinned, blue-eyed young girl. She wore a beige dress and carried a small basket of apples in their shop.

Draven stopped at the shop of fruits and met the young shopkeeper.

"Good morning, sire. Is there anything I can do for thee?" asked that shopkeeper.

"Let me buy three lemons." answered Draven.

"One lemon costs three gold coins, sire."

"No problem, dame."

Draven grabbed his bag of coins passed it to the young shopkeeper. The young shopkeeper grabbed nine coins from his bag. Another shopkeeper grabbed an empty leather bag and placed the three lemons in.

"Lorraine, kindly pass this bag to that squire." requested the second shopkeeper.

"Lorraine?" wondered Draven.

"Excuse me, sire. Thy bag of gold is in our shop. Also, here came thy order, three lemons." said Lorraine the young shopkeeper as she handed two bags, one containing Draven's gold and the other one containing three lemons.

"And excuse me, dame. Who is Lorraine?" asked Draven.

"It is I, Lorraine. Thou canst call me Raine for short." answered she.

"And I am Draven. Nice to meet thee, dame."

"Same for thee, sire." said she with a smile on her face.

Draven left the shop of fruits as Lorraine went back in. The feudal lord followed Draven but stopped at that shop.

"Good morning, His Majesty. Is there anything I can do for thee?" greeted Lorraine.

"Hmmm... what about thy apples? How much?" asked the long-haired feudal lord.

"One apple costs two gold coins, His Majesty."

"Well, ten apples for me. Wait... let me hand over my gold bag unto thee."

"Sure."

Still riding on his horse, Draven stopped at a closed church. He dismounted from his horse and slowly walked to its door. With him lightly pushing two doors, they opened slowly. Inside, thin rays of sunlight shone on the chandeliers, pulpits, lecterns, and church chairs with kneelers. In front of the priest's table, flowers and saint statues; there came a winged shadow standing in front of him.

The winged shadow spread his wings, but Draven remained standing erect.

"Art thou an angel?" said he, as he encountered the swinging chandeliers.

The winged shadow charged to Draven, colliding with him which made him blown out of the church to his horse.

The squire tried to get up in place while hearing a weird, somber, slow screech from the winged shadow.

"It is obvious." said the winged shadow.

"If so... then... who art thou?" asked Draven, shivering with his bent legs vibrating. Draven froze and was now wet with his sweat.

"Zen." responded the dark angel.

"Zen please... try to hurt me not... try to harm my fellowmen not... please... I am begging thee..."

Draven, still staring the fallen angel Zen, slowly grabbed his sword from the scabbard. Wielding it, he pointed it to the fallen angel, which was coming closer.

"Zen... if thou dost this..." said he, with his right arm vibrating with his sword.

The sword pierced below Zen's ribs and above his abdomen. Still, the fallen angel came closer. With his hands, Zen grabbed Draven's sword, as blood slowly flowed out his stomach. The apex came out from his back and blood flowed out of it.

Draven was forced to release his sword, as Zen forcefully pushed its handle out from his body.

The sword was dropped, with blood stained on it.

"I... will... hurt... them... not..." promised Zen.

Draven sighed in relief, but slowly picked up his blood-stained sword.

"And thy name is..." asked the fallen angel.

"Draven..." answered the young squire, still breathing heavily.

"Worry not, young guy. I can be a human, just likest thee." pleaded Zen, with his wings slowly fading as their feathers slowly falling like leaves.

Then came a black-haired, light-skinned young guy wearing a black brigandine and a black trousers. His brigandine, however, was blood-stained.

"Zen..." wondered Draven.

"It is still me." said Zen, covering the part stained with blood with his right hand. "Now tell them not... that I am... a fallen angel... I am begging thee... thou shalt not do it... It's only betwixt us two... and whoever thy friends loyal to thee... Now I... will leave. Farewell..."

Zen slowly disappeared like a vanishing spirit. Draven was left speechless, witnessing a pile of black feathers in front of the church.

Sighing, Draven was forced to grab a long broom from a workshop and cleaned this mess.

"Hey, thou must ask a permission!" shouted the broom maker.

"I am so sorry, this church needeth to be cleaned!" replied Draven.

Raine, witnessing the black pile of feathers, rushed to sweep using her broom from her shop.

"Sir Draven!" said she.

Draven turned his head to Raine, who was running into him.

"May I help thee?" asked Raine.

"Aye. Thou canst." replied Draven.

As both swept the black pile of feathers, other peasants grabbed their own brooms and helped.

"It is alright, my fellowmen. Just kindly help us." requested Raine.

"Agreed. We cannot leave thee behind." said one of the peasants.

"Aye. One can rely not only his self, but also his fellowmen and God!" said another one.

"No regrets, no grievances!" added the third one.

Draven, Raine, and the witnessing peasants cleaned up the alley where the church was. A priest wearing in black robe, having a very short grey hair close to being bald, with grey mustaches and beards and having a pastoral staff on his left hand, slowly walked to the church as the peasants willingly kissed his right hand or put it on their foreheads.

"May God bless thee..." said the priest.

"Good morning, Father." greeted the peasants.

"A pleasant morning to all." replied the priest.

Carrying bags of feathers, the peasants transferred them to a wagon.

"So, I will leave the rest to thee, my fellowmen. I have a quest to finish, and lo, there came my master." said Draven.

"Thy master? Let me guess, Lord Sol?" said a peasant.

"Aye. Lord Sol, the feudal lord of this fief. Three knights were his vassals."

"Thou knowest, Sire Draven, we want thee to be one of the vassals, one of the knights."

"Well, I can not, I am still young."

The feudal lord, who was Sol, came again to Draven on horseback.

"Draven, what was that?" said he.

"Canst thou make this Sire Draven a knight? Look, many peasants are loyal to him, even to the priests, fellow knights, and even to the lords." requested the peasant.

"And even to God." added another peasant.

"I am sure of this, too, but we need more time. As he saith, he is still young. Full-fledged knights came at their twenty-first year. As in his age, he is a squire." replied Sol.

"My brothers and sisters, thou hast to wait for the right time to come. There is always time for everything." added the priest.

"Well I shall go now. There is a quest I have to get done." bade Draven, now mounting on horseback and letting his horse gallop.

"Draven!" shouted Sol, following him where he went.


	4. The Second

Sol and Draven rushed to the feudal manor on horseback. A quest was about to be tackled. On the other hand, Zen was at the top of an abandoned castle keep, just watching over them.

Zen heard a female voice at his back, but he just ignored the speaker.

"Zen..." the voice was heard.

As Zen turned back, from afar he saw another fallen angel. That fallen angel had a long, black hair; wearing a black dress and showing her black wings.

"Mai, thou just showed up." he said.

"What dost thou think? I am just visiting this town to find thee."

"Zen, methinks that thou art acting like a true human being. Art thou not?"

"Not actually."

Zen and Mai jumped up to the sky and flew afar, not seen by the townsfolk. Raine, outside the shop, saw two fallen angels flying high.

Frightened, the young shopkeeper put a question.

"Who are those two flying in the sky?" she asked, but no one heard her.

The other shopkeepers and townsfolk gazed the two fallen angels flying high, but they do not know what they are.

Shocked, they hastened and hid at their shops.

Meanwhile, Sol and Draven rushed to the feudal manor on horseback. They even met other squires and knights.

A meeting was held by Sol, and the knights gathered in. The squires got back to their designated jobs.

"My fellowmen!" called Sol, and the knights stood in attention.

"Yes, sire!" responded the knights.

"There will be a great raid in this town. No knight did not initiate this raid, after all. This raid will destroy every fief and kill every peasant." informed Sol.

"But, His Majesty, a demon invaded this town at exactly four in the morning and killed the fifty-sixth devotee." spoke an anxious knight.

"A demon?"

"Yes, sire, a demon. It is a demon wearing a black hooded robe and carrying a long sword. His face is completely covered with blood and cut with bruises."

"And where canst thou find that such demon?"

"I... I have seen it with two of my comrades..."

"If that is thy case, that demon will possibly attack this village. I want thee to be warned, because at midnight, something strange will happen. I want the peasants' curfews to be highly implemented."

"But what about the squires?"

"The squires will also follow the curfews. Ye knights will defend this town from the siege." 

Later at night, in a silent, rich house, the dining room's table was dotted with candles, fish, bread loaves, apples, bananas, oranges, and arranged plates, spoons, knives and forks. A maid dressed in white robe and blue garments washed the dishes in a basin, while the chandeliers decorated with candles started to swing. The maid paused for a while, trying to listen to the swinging chandeliers.

The windows stood upright, as the maid slowly crept to the exit door of the house. The washed plates were still piled up, and as she touched the door, a window began to shatter.

From the broken window, a creature showed with four thin arms, two fat legs, a thin body, and a head showing a large mouth, razor-sharp teeth, pointed tongue, and even bone spikes at its back; and it crawled towards the maid.

The crawling beast screamed like a bear, and the maid screamed and moved back in response. The door also opened, summoning three living corpses that were once human beings.

The living corpses and the crawling creature slowly ambushed the screaming maid, until a back-stab to a living corpse stopped the ambush. That stabbed corpse had its blood flowing at its back and at its abdomen by a sword. The sword, now released with the blood still flowing out, was in the hands of a knight.

"Now go upstairs. These zombies and ghouls will just haunt thee in this room." said the knight.

"Yes... sire..." cried the maid.

The maid, shivering and freezing, took deep breaths and ran out of the dining room. The knight ambushed the two other zombies alone, stabbing them to death and filling the dining room with gore. The sword he used went blood-stained, as he faced the crawling ghoul in the same room.

In the same house, the maid rushed to the bedroom with fear and hid under her own bed, starting to pray "The Lord's Prayer" while listening to the stabs and slashes of the sword.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven..." prayed the maid while sobbing.

Meanwhile, the ghoul rushed to the knight, who blocked its claws by his sword and shield.

"So, art thou trying to devour my own flesh? Take this blade out of thy mouth!" said the knight while wrestling with the screaming ghoul.

The knight pointed his sword to the ghoul's head, forcing it to stab its wide-opened mouth. The screaming ghoul's throat was pierced out and blood flowed at the back of its neck.

The knight's cuirass and heaume was stained with blood, and the zombies collapsed to the ground, splashed with gore.

Releasing the sword from the throat of the ghoul, blood flowed from its mouth and the ghoul collapsed to the ground.

The knight heavily breathed in and out and went out of the blood-stained house.

The door was shut, and upon his departure, he gazed at the running knights.

Inside, the maid slowly peeked at the door and opened it, and as she went out of the room, the wall was stained with blood.

"Oh my goodness! The house!" shouted the shocked maid.

Upon going downstairs, she saw the dining and living rooms with the floors stained with blood, laid by the dead corpses. This made her totally astonished and covered her face in dismay.

The door was opened and two knights carried the dead corpses. The knight who attacked the corpses came to the maid.

"Uhm... dame?" called he.

"Sire..." responded the maid.

"Art thou scared?"

"Aye..."

"Be not, for we will guard this town. Thou wilt rest in thy bed, we will clean up these corpses for thee. We want thee not to see the dead corpses in your house. Just pray to God that thou wilt be safe from harm."

"I will..."

While the two knights cleared the room and carried the dead corpses, the blood-stained one left the maid.

"Sire... What is thy name?" asked the maid.

The knight took his heaume off, letting her gaze at Sol's face.

"His Majesty?" asked she.

"I was once a knight." said the blood-stained knight, who was actually Sol in disguise.

"Oh, much like the emperor gave thee this fief as a reward for thy service."

"Exactly, but still, I have to seek allegiance to the emperor, even to the Lord."

At the back of the same house, a lesser female demon with her scarlet hair, short black horns, hands and feet with long, pointed nails and wearing a red dress stood and stared at the house. Zen was at the back of the demon, calling her from far away.

"Mana, come to me for thy quests to follow." Zen said.

"What is it, master?" the demon, who was Mana, responded slowly.

"Just come to me, and I will tell it."

"OK, master."

Mana instantly disappeared from the house, as the knights searched for the demon previously confronted by the three knights.

The next day, Draven, who was strolling around the town, was called by Sol.

"Draven!" called Sol on horseback.

"Sire?" responded Draven.

"This town is overrun by ghouls and zombies. At night, I want thee to stay inside your home."

"But why, sire? I was just looking for a shop of fruits."

"This town is haunted. Demons were haunting every person living in this town. These people might be possessed by demons if not stopped."

"Demons? Never mind about me. People who have strong faith in God will never be possessed by evil spirits or demons. Prayer is my first thing to do in my own routine."

"I understand, Draven. I just don't want the townsfolk to be haunted by demons. As for thee, do not let thy guard down. Demons test thy faith in God. If you fail to resist their temptations, there will be a possibility that you will turn back against Him."

A ray of light shone on the town, forcing Sol and Draven to cover their eyes. A winged image showed up, thus making Draven frightened and ran towards Sol's horse.

"Do not be afraid." initiated the winged figure.

Draven gazed at the winged figure, who was actually a handsome angel wearing a shining white robe, white wings as bright as sunlight, and a bright halo surrounding his windswept head. Upon seeing the angel, Draven was amazed.

"Who art thou?" asked Draven.

"It is I, Gabriel." said the white angel.

"Why didst thou go here?"

"I just want to meet ye people here, and ask a 'How art thou?'."

"Sire, we are fine. We are still alive."

Gabriel laughed at Draven's speech.

"Actually, young lad, just call me Gabriel; or if courtesy matters, just Archangel Gabriel."

"And my name is Draven, the young squire."

"And I am Sol, the feudal lord of this fief."

"So the townsfolk here said that demons haunt this town. Am I right, Draven?" it was Gabriel who asked.

"Aye." Draven agreed.

"I will tell thee this. These demons will fool ye people. They will tempt ye to do what God forbade ye to do. Or perhaps, they will bring suffering and destruction of this place. Not only in this place, but also the whole world. If thou art fooled by these demons, if thou didst anything God doth not want people to do, ye fall into the temptations of Satan, and ye wilt turn away from God." warned Gabriel.

"Oh my goodness!" responded the shocked Sol.

"But, be not afraid. God has a better plan for us. The demons cannot fool the people who have strong faith in Him. They cannot tempt the ones who stood firm. They cannot put thee down if thy faith is still kept and holden. Do not let thy guard down, keep the faith, and believe in the ones who are loyally good to thee, especially God. Stand up for what is right, even if that means standing alone." it was Gabriel who gave pieces of advice.

"I agree." said both Draven and Sol.

"Have a nice day, townsfolk." bade Gabriel, with a ray of light that faded in tune of his disappearance.

"Goodbye, archangel." responded Draven.

"So, today is the event for the Mass. Dost thou want to go to the church with me? Your fellow loyal friends will also go there." requested Sol.

"I accept thy request, sire." replied Draven.

"Go ride on my steed, Draven."

"Yes, sire."

Sol and Draven, now riding on the feudal lord's horse, trotted to the church where the young squire believed that it was the same church he visited while confronting Zen.


	5. The Third

A priest presided a Holy Mass in the church Sol and Draven both went in.

"My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins." said he. "Altogether..."

"I confess to almighty God, and to thee, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and thee, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God." the Mass attendants said while striking their left chest in the middle part of their response.

"May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life."

"Amen."

But, before the Kyrie was sung and played by the church orchestra, there was silence upon the priest staring above, thinking that an omen will arrive. Also, the musicians stared at the ceiling and noticed the break.

The attendants were still standing, bowing down their heads and closing their eyes to pray. Suddenly, a cracking sound from the dome was heard, and the ceiling collapsed to show off a black winged being falling in front of the altar where the priest was present.

The winged being stood in front of the presiding priest, and used his right hand to incapacitate him by shock. The helpless priest repeatedly jerked, his eyes repeatedly blinking, and his body tense. His hand brightened with a spectral blue, with the screaming soul of the priest contained. Sooner, the bright hand faded to black; and as the falling priest came in contact with the floor, his head had blood flowing out of it.

The winged being turned to the Mass attendants, notably Draven and Sol. Surprisingly, Raine was beside the feudal lord. The attendants escaped upon seeing the black entity, as the winged creature neared Sol. The other Mass attendants, who had cuirasses in their bodies, rushed to the creature.

"Father!" said one of them, and all unsheathed their claymores and rushed to the altar. The attacking Mass attendants claimed to be Sol's knights.

The creature slashed the necks of some knights, and delivered a sheer blow to the other by his aerial kick. The knights who were slashed, with blood flowing out of their necks, screamed in agony. The other knights blown by the creature experienced a break in their heads and in their spines.

The other Mass attendants ran fast as they could, trying to depart from the church. Even Raine was not spared by the winged being, as both stared each other and the young shopkeeper tried to escape. Draven and Sol were the only ones remaining.

"Zen!" screamed Draven as he unsheathed his sword to call the creature's attention, knowing that the winged being was actually Zen.

"Draven! Be careful what thou wishest for!" shouted Sol, and unsheathed his claymore.

"His Majesty, I am the only one knowing this creature!"

"Even so, Draven. Thou must need a help!"

"But His Majesty! I am begging thee! Please leave this church! The fief and our fellowmen need thee more than me!"

"Draven, I will return here, granting thy assistance!"

As Sol departed the church alone, Draven and Zen met again. The young squire pointed the black winged creature by his sword.

"And thou art coming here again. What dost thou want?" asked Draven. The fallen angel did not answer.

Because of his unanswered question, Draven tried to leave Zen alone but the fallen angel suddenly appeared in front of him.

Zen tried to slash Draven with his claws, but Draven blocked him by his sword. Draven dodged his kick, but as the young squire cleaved the fallen angel, Zen blocked the slash of Draven's sword by his right hand.

Draven's sword and Zen's claws came into contact with each other every slash and block. With these, Zen had cuts all over his arms and blood constantly flowed on them. Draven, however, was not hurt.

"This hurteth me not." said Zen, continuing the clash with his initiation.

Zen kicked Draven's chest aerially and delivered a sheer blow. As the defenseless squire came into contact with the church wall, Draven rolled over but the fallen angel appeared near him and grabbed his neck. Zen released him in the air, leaped, grabbed his right arm, and threw him back to the floor. Draven, falling down, wielded his sword and pointed at Zen, who now had his right hand glowing with blue and cast lightning bolts to the young squire. Draven successfully parried the lightning bolts, thus returning to Zen. The fallen angel, hit by his own magic, collided with the church ceiling. Draven, on the other hand, collided with the floor, with his sword dropping into the ground. Thus, upon collision, Draven's head had blood flowing out of it, filling the cracks of the floor he collided on.

With his body becoming tense and his right hand raised, Draven tried to find his sword but he moved not. Screaming in agony, his right hand started to imbue yellow sparks. As he closed his hand, a spectral spear he wielded. Zen came back from the ceiling, again casting lightning from his glowing hand. Draven, trying to counter the spell, helplessly threw the spear to the fallen angel.

As Zen tried to stomp Draven down, the squire's lightning spear pierced his chest and exploded, forcing Zen to collide with the broken ceiling and sending him out of the church. In that collision, two chandeliers in front of the altar collapsed and fell down, breaking into pieces and in flames.

Zen, injured by magic, collided finally at the roof of the church. Near him was a huge cross that started to glow white and blind him at an instant. With this, Zen tried to cover himself but ended up rolling, falling down from the roof and colliding the entrance, wet with blood and sweat.

The glowing cross faded and Gabriel appeared to land on the church, now in ruins and in flames.

"Draven. Thou art maimed." said he.

"Archangel... where is Lord Sol?" asked the helpless Draven.

"Here they come."

"Huh?"

The horses in front of the entrance of the church had Sol and his remaining knights steering forward. Gabriel and Draven saw them, as Zen slowly got up in place and faded with a pile of black feathers.

The feathers were swept away by the gallops of the horses, and Sol came in to find Draven.

"Ye all shalt search for the fallen victims, and I will find the young squire." commanded he.

"Yes, sire!" agreed the other knights in steed, raising their swords and dismounted.

The knights ran and roamed around the church to find Draven and their fallen companions.

* * *

In a dark, abandoned palace, it was Mana who roamed around and scavenged the flesh of the piled corpses. She, being shackled but free, also waited for the coming of Zen and Mai.

It was Mai who came near her.

"Mana..." called the fallen angel, woefully.

"Lady Mai... hast thou seen Lord Zen?" asked Mana.

"Zen... I have seen him not..."

"I was tasked to clean his palace, and now I have seen him not... When doth he come?"

"I, too, know not where he goth."

A voice interrupted their sentimental talk.

"Enough of this! I know that ye both wilt look for Zen. I saw him, attacking the helpless priest and impaled the knights of the baron!"

"Who art thou?" Mai asked the loud voice.

"I want thee to show thyself. I want not to scream in this palace."

Mai, hearing the order, walked to the exit to open the door. Then showed a lady in black. That is, black hair, black eyes, black lips, black gown; all black except her light skin.

"And what now happened to him?" asked Mai.

"A squire... defeated him..." said the lady.

The lady in black strongly shut the door and aggressively walked in anger.

"Thou must find a way in order for Zen to come back here!" shouted she.

"I know, but he cometh not!" defended Mai.

"Why canst thou not? It is obvious that thou art a sister of Zen. Thou must be worried!"

"I know not his place now."

"Lady Jenneh! Please stop this!" interrupted Mana, which made the lady in black shocked.

It was a moment of silence after Mana screamed to stop this uproar.

"Jenneh... who art thou?" asked the curious Mai.

"Ah... thou art the one who knoweth me not. I have a secret relationship with Zen." stated Jenneh, the lady in black.

"What art thou talking about?"

"Thou wilt know it soon. I will leave."

"What?"

Jenneh shut the door and made an exit.

"Fie!" it was Mai who started to enrage a bit.

* * *

A week later, at the shop of fruits...

"Lorraine, I want thee not to go near that black angel. He is ruthless." said the old shopkeeper.

Draven, who was finally relieved, ran to the shop.

"Draven!" shouted Raine and the old shopkeeper.

"Oh, dame! Is there anything else I can do?" asked Draven.

"Ahh... no, no... Nothing... I am just worried..."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"May I have thy apples?"

"Oh, sure, but I need gold for thee to have them."

A voice interrupted them, and upon seeing, Draven saw a man in black peasant attire.

"Who art thou?" asked the perplexed Draven.

"Dost thou not know? I am Zen." said the man in black.

"Zen... we must speak in a secluded place, not here."

"Well then, I will take thee there."

A dark aura faded Draven and Zen and both disappeared out of sight, leaving Draven dropping a bag of apples.

"Draven?" Raine was a bit perplexed in this situation.


	6. The Fourth

After Sol's quest in finding the slain knights done, he and his knights rested in the abandoned, destroyed church. The nightfall had come; and these knights, but Draven, gathered in groups.

"Ye hast done well, fellowmen. But I will tell thee this; the demons still haunt the townsfolk as what the archangel saith. These demons show not their true forms, so we know not which of the people we meet such are. It is better for us to be warned." spoke Sol.

"His Majesty? No demons haunted us here." said a knight.

"Still, we have to be aware of the hopeless circumstances we bear against demons."

"But why, His Majesty?"

"The devil uses deception and temptation in order for us humans to believe and serve him, in exchange of fame, wealth, and glory."

"So thou sayest that a great many of them sold their soul to the devil."

"Exactly, a great many indeed."

As the night had passed, they forgot something important.

"His Majesty! We have forgotten something!" exclaimed another trusted knight.

"Eh?" Sol was perplexed.

"The torches and candles! We forgot to bring them!"

"Oh my God..."

Upon hearing Sol's exclamations, they saw appearances of townsfolk roaming around the ruined church carrying the torches and candles.

"It is much more than what I saw before! Those ones in the procession!" a third knight expressed his senses.

"Are they related to the sudden killing of the fifty-sixth devotee?" asked Sol.

"I know not, His Majesty. For sure I know that the devotees carried sacred statues."

"Are they devoted to God? Or they carried statues for their own sacred cult?"

"Well, I suggest that we will follow the path of the devotees. We will see if they really put their faith in God, or they are in a mysterious cult. I have witnessed the death of the fifty-sixth devotee; and it is during their procession before."

"Alright, enough talk. We will just follow their path. Still, we know not whatsoever of their actions; but if their acts are for the devil, we have no choice but slaying them. 'Tis all according to my orders. Thou shalt not let thy guard down. Faith is what we are fighting for this time."

As they ventured to where the mysterious devotees went, on a high passage through a cliff, all but Sol knew that someone also followed them. The knights still listened to their sacred hums, as the feudal lord was perplexed to hear patterns of hums and screeches.

Later, a red blade stabbed a devotee carrying a statue, forcing him to slip on the edge and scream in agony as blood spewed from his chest.

The other devotees stopped the walk, so did Sol and his knights. Sol was the only one sensing another red blade.

"Shields!" screamed Sol, ordering the knights to defend themselves.

Later, groups of black hooded beings, crossing their arms, appeared and haunted the devotees.

"Demons!" one of the knights spoke up.

The black hooded beings unveiled their grotesque faces having sharp, thin horns at the sides of their heads, vampire teeth, sharp claws with long nails, and thorny tentacles below their cloaks.

Shadowy beings also rose from the cliff, thus surrounding both the devotees and the knights. Those beings were ghastly, hiding their true faceless forms with screams of souls heard by them.

"Oh no... what are we supposed to do?" a concerned knight asked Sol.

A devotee dropped the statue of a saint, now being broken in pieces while making the other devotees wounded on feet.

"Alright my fellowmen... step on us!" another knight said to the devotees.

"NO!" denied Sol. "I perceived something malefic to the devotees as well!"

"Pardon, sir?"

"There is a conspiracy among these devotees. Warning must be heeded!"

Other devotees just continued the parade without the helpless knights defending on their sides. Since all devotees were in hooded white cloaks, one of them, the one suffering from the red blades, unveiled his hood and saw his true identity.

"And what art thou doing?" a knight asked the unveiling devotee.

As the devotee undressed his white cloak, his bare back had a wound inscribing a pentagram, and his eyes grew blacker and gave him a more sinister look than he was before. Sol judged as he also gazed at the symbol at the devotee's back.

"A demon. A servant of Satan."

The knights prepared a cross that bore holy magic to exorcise the demons haunting both the knights and the devotees.

One of the tentacled demons suddenly interrupted their plan.

"Thou art wrong, His Majesty." contradicted the demon.

"Am I wrong? Who killed the devotees, especially the fifty-sixth one who died during their procession? Are we responsible for the death of the devotees? We are not, it wast thou who was responsible for all of this!" debated Sol.

"It wast thou who made a sinful mistake, His Majesty. Thy society is creating its own hell, the people in it and the people around it are its demons."

"Art thou serious?"

"I am telling thee the sad and painful truth ye humans know not. Like us, ye are serving Satan as well. Ye commit sins to other people around thee. And even though ye atoned for the sins ye committed, ye still did everything to satisfy the worldly allurement of all people through wealth and power, resulting in the lust and pride of every man."

"Thou art right, but it is not always like this. Just because we all committed sins, does not always mean that we also served the devil. No matter how sinful we are in the eyes of the society thou just mentioned, the Lord still loves us; and we always have our minds to decide for the right choice to do, as long as we will avoid such consequence thou just stated."

While the devotees suffering from the invasion of the demons, the knights bravely faced the ghastly demons as Sol initiated the clash.

"Now, with my allies committed to serve Him, we are ready to strike against thee!" shouted Sol.

"Be not too certain, mortal. Harboring false hope just makes thee lose a battle." replied the demon. "My name is Legion, and we are many!"

With Legion's comrades wielding the same red blades as before, both sides started the clash as the surviving devotees escaped. The other devotees injured and impaled by the red blades now turned themselves to demons, thus making Legion creating a larger army.

"They outnumbered us, and we cannot stop them through swords and shields alone." warned Sol. "Prepare thy crosses!"

As the tentacled demons threw blades as red as human blood to Sol and his knights, the army of knights ran towards them with their shields on.

"Advance!" screamed Sol, marching to Legion and his fellow demons.

Legion also summoned the same zombies and ghouls that previously attacked the maid.

"Continue!" screamed Sol.

As the knights clashed with the army of tentacled demons, shadow demons, zombies, ghouls, and the demon-corrupted devotees, Sol leaped and charged against Legion and they both dueled.

Wielding his sword, Sol cleaved the demon's body but Legion countered with his tentacles showing his chest and grabbing him, thus cutting the tentacles. As Legion threw red blades to the feudal lord, a shield was pierced by the blades, and Sol's sword deflected the other blades being thrown by the same demon.

Sol grabbed his holy cross and raised it up to cast divine light against Legion and his demons. All of the demons were blinded by the light, as the knights followed him, grabbing the crosses and raised them up. As the light faded in the cross, the tentacled demons were burned alive, the shadow demons vanishing, and the zombies and ghouls being stabbed by the swords of the knights. Fountains of blood came out from the corpses as Sol and his knights left the cliff with the surviving devotees.

* * *

The next day, Sol, who was alone in a cathedral, talked to a priest wearing a black cassock with a scarlet piping.

"Father, are they thy committed devotees, those ones in white hoods and cloaks carrying candles and saint statues?" asked the feudal lord.

"I agree on thy claims, Majesty. They are committed to God and served the church. Besides, I am also the Cardinal of this conquered empire." said the priest.

"Dost thou know the demon that killed one of them?"

"Ah, that demon, in the guise of a possessed, corrupted man with a scar at his face. He wielded a longsword, wore a black hooded cloak, and concealed his face but his demonic eyes."

"And dost thou know his story, even in brief?"

"Nick. It is his name. He is one of the Devil's most trusted knights of Hell. Like him, Nick is also called as the Prince of Darkness. His accursed sword, Gehenna, tasteth blood from the slain mortals, and is fueled by the souls of the damned. He is actually a cambion, a being born from the union of a human and a demon. With his rational thinking and judgement as a human, and his sin and callousness as a demon, Nick can slay countless numbers of angels and men who crossed his path."

"So thou sayest that Nick killed the fifty-sixth devotee in their procession?"

"If thy knights claimed that he was a demon in a hooded cloak, then Nick might haunt thee as well. The Archangel Gabriel warned thee about Satan's invasion in this human world, am I right? The devil corrupted the society, tempting the people to believe in his lies. As a result, chaos emerges this world. To face thy demons, Majesty, thou must need guidance from the Lord our God, even to the people thou hast trust with. Thou shalt not let thy guard down."

"Yes, Father. I will do everything to the Lord in His accord."


	7. The Fifth

Upon hearing the words from the Cardinal, Sol told to his trusted knights and Draven in his palace about the mysterious man in black hooded cloak.

"The man in black hooded cloak, who killed the fifty-sixth devotee in a procession, is a half-demonic being called as Nick. He, a powerful swordsman, a knight of Hell, and a Prince of Darkness; is born from a union of a human and a demon."

"That man hath a sword, as I gazed from his visage." said a witnessed knight.

"He wielded a long sword, which the Cardinal named it as Gehenna. The sword is named after a place where the idolatrous followers sacrificed their children, and also where the dead bodies are consumed by fire that always burns. The sword Nick wieldeth is fueled by the souls of the damned, and is fed by the blood of his victims." Sol added.

"Gehenna? This meaneth hell, am I right?" asked Draven.

"Exactly as it is."

"Where can we find him?"

"He keepeth wandering around this town or stayeth in a dark place we see not. We can easily track him, but he is too strong that not even a brave human warrior can stop him. Demons give him his immense power, fueled by the sins human beings committed. The three knights who witnessed him before shall meet him again together with Draven. Only four of you will confront Nick."

"And canst thou come with us too, Majesty?"

"I need to go to the Emperor for an updated set of laws in his empire. This includeth where we live. My trusted knights will accompany me."

"Orders complied, sire." responded the knights and Draven.

"Draven and the three witnesses, thy faith in the Lord shall be fortified. Thou art not just confronting him, thou art also confronting the human beings who, we know not, believed in the devil's false assumptions." warned Sol.

* * *

"The church involved in the procession of the devotees is there." said the first knight while pointing at the church."

The three knights, who witnessed Nick's presence, guided Draven to where they last met with him.

It was almost evening and rain started to fall, but the three knights prepared their crosses.

One after another, three lightning bolts zapped the ground in front of the witnesses, and Nick, as expected, came to them.

"Is this where he lived?" asked Draven.

"Aye." said the three witnessing knights.

"Fools." said Nick, in a dark, cold voice.

"We came for thee, Nick. Let us settle this fast." said the first knight.

"What is wrong? Art thou shocked that we know thy name?" asked the second.

"Why canst thou not show thyself?" added the third.

Draven was left speechless.

The three knights prepared to draw their swords as Nick came closer to them. The man in black wielded his Gehenna sword and suddenly charged them.

As Nick tried to slash them, the three witnesses blocked his sword by their own. But such powerful force moved them backwards and closer to Draven. They even fell down to the ground while dropping their swords.

Draven just watched but was shocked of Nick's power in action.

"Draven! We need thy help!" said the third knight.

"What can I do?" asked Draven.

"Help us attack that demon!"

"I am coming, friends."

Draven came closer to Nick by walking slowly towards him. The three witnesses crawled back and tried to pick up their swords.

As the young squire walked closer, he made a short, silent prayer; and when they both stood still...

"Nick, am I right?" asked Draven.

"Yes, and who art thou?" asked Nick.

"Draven."

"Art thou a loyal servant of Sol?"

Draven nods.

"And thou art born from the union of a human and a demon, am I right?"

"Exactly."

"And why didst thou come here right now?"

"I am warning thee, Draven. I came here to torment souls of the mindless human beings I can see."

"And what madest thou do that?"

"Humans are corrupted by the society that is corrupted by evil. I know from them that mankind are like angels. They are given freedom to choose which side they are, and yet, they chose to defy the order of their Creator."

"And why?"

"A third of the angels are fallen because of such choice they made, and there is no turning back. Once thou wilt choose either side, thou wilt need to make an effort to prove that thou art good or evil. Sometimes, I see human beings as flawed creations, as they are making an effort to follow the footsteps of the demons."

"What madest thou say that humans and demons are interrelated?"

"Sin. It is what makes humans and demons have in common. Human beings judged others without knowing the true story. They kill each other when tasked to or furious. They made others believe what is false. They even tend to have strong desires for power, wealth, and even flesh from other human beings."

"Nick, we all apologize. Forgive us, for all thou sayest are true. But it is not always like this to us. Thou art a human being, art thou not?"

"How canst thou?"

"We human beings, like both of us, have freedom of choice. We all can do what we want to do. We also made mistakes, but not all mistakes are sins. All of us have the same purpose, and Nick, I am telling thee, such purpose we all have is not about what thou sayest right now."

"If thou canst tell me thy purpose as a human being, I will tell mine too."

Suddenly, Nick and Draven wielded their own swords as the half-demon attacked him first. But successfully, the young squire blocked Gehenna's attacks.

"My purpose in this cruel and lonely world is different from thine." said Draven as they continued.

While raining, thunder and lightning boomed and flashed the sky as Draven and Nick both fenced with their own swords.

Successfully, Draven slit Nick's left cheek and forced him to unveil his hood.

As Nick showed his formally combed black hair, pale-colored face, closed lips, and black demonic eyes; his left cheek trickled with blood but walked slowly to Draven, who shivered while wielding his sword in both hands.

The three witnesses, getting up in place, rushed to Nick with their swords at the right and crosses at the left.

While Nick and Draven both gazed at the witnessing knights in action, the young squire dodged for them to ambush the half-demon. Nick, in response, raised his left hand and cast a fireball in front of them. Exploding in contact, the three witnessing knights were under serious burns inside their armors, making them scream in agony immediately after the fireball explosion.

Draven, in response, raised his right hand while wielding his sword at his left. His right hand sparked and created a spear out of lightning bolts.

"What? Could this be a miracle?" asked the shocked Nick, gazing at the spear.

Draven, now wielding two weapons at once, came to contact with Nick's sword Gehenna. In this case, they both fenced with their weapons.

"Draven! Careful!" pleaded the second witnessing knight.

A second fireball from Nick was thrown to Draven and exploded in his contact, but the half-demon did not even see the squire in the air throwing his spear.

Nick tried to block Draven's spear using Gehenna, but was given shocks of lightning from the spear along with the sword.

"No! This can not be!" Nick was endangered, falling. Draven also landed on the ground and confronted him.

"Human beings have a purpose like both of us. Though it is meaningless, Nick, creating something that only thou canst understand is the beginning of such purpose. As for thee, thou art viewing us humans negatively because thou art cursed with demonic power, fed with rage, hate, and vengeance. Thou dost not know yet the true purpose of human existence." spoke Draven.

"Leasing-monger!" cursed Nick, continuing the bloody battle against the squire.

As the Gehenna sword collided with both Draven's sword and lightning-forged spear, the three witnessing knights, injured, ambushed Nick at his back. They all raised their crosses and as a result, the crosses glow with holy light.

The half-demonic swordsman was forced to gaze at the three glowing crosses, but he shook his head and disappeared in the shadows. As he appeared again, far away from Draven and the knights, he suddenly crouched and dropped his sword.

The young squire came closer to Nick but the half-demonic being raised his right hand and stopped him.

"Leave me alone, for I want thee not to enter Hell alive. This is no place for living mortals." warned Nick.

"But why dost thou go there?" resisted Draven.

"Hell is where I was born and is my home Thou knowest me that I am a demon. Humans are not worthy to enter Hell unless they are sinners who died without repentance or atonement for their sins, or who died with their sins unpardonable or mortal. If they dare to enter Hell alive, suffering will be expected, fear will be invoked, and faith will be destroyed. Hate and rage will conquer in thy mind, heart, and soul. Hell is not just an abode of demons, it is also a prison of eternal suffering to the wicked who are consigned after death."

"Why art thou living there?"

"Thou wilt know the reason when we will meet again."

Nick cast a blood-involved demonic magic that summoned the devil's flaming pentagram symbol on the ground and he disappeared along with the symbol.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sol and his knights reported to the emperor as directed.

"Master, I came." Sol initiated.

"Sol, I will use thy knights this time together with mine." said the emperor.

"What for?"

"I will conquer a free empire right now."

"Which empire?"

"Well, I am not sure, but I will meet any foreign citizens and enslave them."

"Enslave them? This can't be. I will turn down such insolent information."

"What would it be insolent? Which is thy priority, Sol? Power or humanity?"

"If thou aimest for power, then what wilt thou use it for?"

"I am the emperor, thy master! How can I meet such rude baron in front of me?"

"I am not doing wrong. What is wrong is thy purpose as an emperor. Thy purpose is just craving for power with no submission allowed from thee."

"Liar!"

The emperor stood immediately and charged to Sol, while the knights under Sol's command advanced to him. The knights, who are under the emperor's command, also ambushed Sol's knights.

Sol and the emperor confronted each other face-to-face, as knights on both sides positioned themselves while the conflict between the emperor and one of his feudal lords continued.


	8. The Sixth

By the time Nick had entered Hell back through the flaming pentagram, Draven tried to throw his spear forged from crystallized lightning, but it hit right the ground right after the pentagram faded.

"So close..." complained the moody squire.

A ray of light shone on Draven and the three accompanied knights.

"Greetings, holy warriors." greeted an angel descending from above.

That angel, showing himself up, wore a pure platinum plate armor, had blue glowing wings, carried a knightly Sword of the Spirit, and had a handsome and innocent face with his black hair combed nicely and had a bright halo in his head.

The knights commanded Draven to rush back to Sol's palace but were denied by the angel.

"Wilt thou lend me thy ears just for a moment? Do not be afraid, my beloved people." The angel requested Draven and the knights to stay for a moment.

"Who art thou?" asked Draven.

"I am Archangel Michael, one of the loyal angels who served the Lord our God."

"Oh... And I am Draven, the young squire in the town of Caldeum."

"I came to heed thy warning, young squire. The town of Caldeum will be constantly overrun by the demons. Also, the devil will summon three of his fellow demon lords - Belial, Mammon, and Leviathan - to weaken all thy spiritual faith and devotion to the Lord. Terror, hatred, and destruction will they bring, and we all will have our fates sealed."

"We will tell the baron of Caldeum about this news, Sir Michael. I am currently in battle with Nick, a demi-fiendish being."

"Nick? That cambion? In this case, he is bestowed with demonic power."

"Exactly have I perceived."

"Nick gaineth immense demonic power from the Seven Lords of Hell themselves. It is opposite the case of a girl Gabriel and I both encountered in Heaven."

"I never heard of the girl yet. Is she a demi-angel?"

"Yes, a nephilim, but different from other nephilims we encountered a long, long time ago. Yes, they are also sons of God and daughters of men. Same case, too, with the girl; but she is bestowed with angelic power and imbued with her strong faith and devotion to God."

"Oh, I see. But by the way, Sir Michael, we will now go to our baron's manor."

"Remember, young squire. We angels will never leave thee."

"I will, Sir Michael."

While Draven and the three knights rushed to Sol's manor, the same demons Sol confronted blocked their way. Michael, seeing them, followed Draven and warned him.

"Draven! Get rid of the hell spawn!" shouted Michael.

"These are the ones we faced before, these ones carrying red darts." said one of the witnessing knights.

"I might say Nick is the reason behind this." judged Draven.

Michael went near the demons and slew them with his Sword of the Spirit.

"Run! I will handle the Devil's forces." said he.

"We will help thee, Sir Michael." denied Draven, preparing his holy cross with the knights.

As the crosses and the angel himself discharge divine power, the demons were out of their way. Blinded by the light for a moment, they ran away and the angel disappeared.

"Sir Michael..." Draven was astonished, going speechless after calling the angel's name.

The three knights ran before the young squire did so.

"Hey! Wait for me!" shouted Draven, running after them.

"Quickly!" said one of the knights, as they went back to Sol's palace.

* * *

Sol and the emperor fenced with their sabers.

"Thou wilt now answer for your transgressions!" The emperor classified Sol as a traitor.

"Thou art the ruler, yet thy power is exercised in a cruel manner!" replied Sol.

Still fencing with their sabers, knights on both sides turned to each other and unwittingly, they clashed.

"To each one of the knights who came here, thou shalt not follow this emperor. As one of his barons, I witnessed that his power is exercised in a cruel, despotic manner. He treateth thee as his slave. Yes, he is the ruler of our very own Zantrom Empire, but what didst he do to his own servants? Enslaving them while putting the towns into inevitable chaos?"

"Thou must not believe this pretentious baron from Caldeum. As thy emperor, thou must follow what I want thee to do. If I witnessed one follower disobeying my rule, disciplinary action is immediately done!"

"Such disciplinary action of thine is an abuse to the masses. Dost thou see their pleas for help and justice? Dost thou see their sufferings? Thou art giving rise to battered citizens and slaves! Death is imminent to such tortures thou hast made to those sinners guilty of even a minor perpetration!"

The knights became more and more confused as Sol and the Zantrom emperor were at a critical, furious argument.

After a long battle, Sol stabbed the emperor's chest and left his throne with fallen knights and spilled blood on the floor. Only he remained alive. Now, who will take the emperor's place?

* * *

In a place with dead trees, land covered with embers, stormy red skies, and a river of blood in Hell, Nick ventured alone while hearing the voices of screaming souls of the damned.

The souls repeatedly screamed for mercy and help.

"Adiuva me!"

"Miserere!"

"Help!"

"Mercy!"

While on a long adventure, a sinister laughter was heard, showing a smoky black hooded figure that constantly disappears and appears again around him.

"How was thy encounter with the flawed creations of God, Nick? Art thou convinced of their lies?"

"No, master. I am turning thy quest in." replied Nick.

The shadow laughed.

"Now that thou hadst followed my simple quest, I want thee to join me in a battle against Michael and his fellow brethren - the Heavenly Host. Thou wilt command my Infernal Legion with me."

Several groups of demons gathered around Nick.

The first group of demons, the Hell Spawns, consisted of the black hooded beings with thin arms, sharp claws, and thorny tentacles under their cloaks; and when unveiled, showed a grim vampiric red visage with long, thin, sharp horns. They carried sharp red darts. They are the same demons that Sol and Draven previously confronted.

The second group of demons, the Shades, showed the shadows that concealed their tormented, screaming faces. They had the ability to obscure the area with smoke and darkness. Like the Hell Spawns, they are the same demons Sol and Draven previously encountered.

The third group of demons, the Inferi, paraded flaming skeletons with human skulls having large horns and sharp teeth. They wielded a thin, sharp sword much shorter than Gehenna.

The fourth group of demons, the Crawlers, had the crawling creatures, each with four thin arms, two fat legs, a thin body, and a head showing a large mouth, razor-sharp teeth, pointed tongue, and even bone spikes at their backs. They are the same ghouls that previously attacked the maid.

And the fifth group of demons, the Familiars, comprised the small flying creatures, each with large bat wings, humanoid bodies, sharp claws in their hands and feet, and bald impish heads having two frontal horns and vampiric teeth.

"Caedite eos!" The demons repeatedly cheered on both Nick and the shadowy figure.

The shadowy figure, in tune with the screams of fellow demons, metamorphosed into a handsome angel wearing a black robe; with black wings, black hair, and two black frontal horns. He also made his eyes go black as he and Nick led them to their destination.


	9. The Seventh

As the Infernal Legion, led by Nick and the fallen angel, they paraded to the barren plains on a silent, calm night. These manifestations of evil were confronted by series of light rays from above, defying the darkness of the night sky. Angels of the Heavenly Host, led by Michael and Gabriel, appeared in front of the Infernal Legion.

These angels have bright white wings, adorned in white robes, bestowed with halos as bright as flames, and wielded swords.

"It's Lucifer!" Michael warned the angels, pointing at the fallen angel.

"Art thou prepared for this, brother?" Gabriel asked.

"We shall be. By the way, accompanying him was Nick, that hooded swordsman Draven faced before."

"Draven... Is he the young squire who hath defended the town of Caldeum from Lucifer's machinations?"

"Exactly. Also, where is the girl bestowed with divine power?"

"Ah, she is with us, brother."

"Good. Now, we'll start the battle here. Though we faced so many battles against Lucifer and his legions, this shall be the turning point."

On the other hand...

"These angels bar our paths, Master." a Shade said to Lucifer.

"We'll force them to pass. I'll be the one to face these two archangel brothers that wronged me." replied the devil.

Nick, still standing silent, just met a girl in white hooded robe wielding a longbow and a quiver of arrows. They both stared at each other, preparing to draw their weapons.

"So, Michael, how was thy blame towards me? Is it deserving?" asked Lucifer to Michael.

"Lucifer, thy rebellion against our Father is unpardonable! Thou must answer for thy heinous sins to us and to the people in this world!"

"As I have told ye all, I wish to become God, not His servant. It was He who forced me to wear the pity and the blame out of my own aim."

"Thy arrogance is what makes thee a fallen archangel, Satan. Thou art already a defeated foe!"

Michael and Lucifer initiated the clash and that started the war between angels and demons.

Meanwhile, the girl in white and Nick both unleashed their spiritual power. The female demi-angel fired a sacred arrow while the male demi-fiend parried it with Gehenna. Every arrow shot was deflected. Still, Nick still searched for an opportunity to strike her in close range.

"Everyone! Face thy demons!" ordered Michael, continuing the spiritual warfare.

The hosts of angels, led by Michael and Gabriel, managed the first strike against Satan and the legions of demons. At the side of the Infernal Legion, at least thousands of hell spawns, shades, and crawlers were slain. On the contrary, at least thousands of principalities, archangels, and angels of the Heavenly Host are slain.

Michael and Gabriel charged against Satan and attacked him.

"Exactly as planned, Michael. Thou art weak." said Satan.

"I will not believe in such lies thou hast said on me!" countered Michael.

Meanwhile, the two hooded people of opposing sides were on a challenge. At that point, Nick delivered a first strike against the female demi-angel. On the other hand, her repeated shots were successfully made which forced the demi-fiend to retreat to his initial position.

The principalities, who are the hooded angels who wore golden crowns and wielded scepters like Gabriel, successfully repelled the familiars and shades through casting holy magic and performing a divine rite of exorcism. But, the hell spawns, who threw them blood-red darts, were the ones who reduced their numbers.

In response, the hell spawns were purged by the angels in armor, who were at the side of Michael. The inferi demons were challenged by other angels and archangels alike, clashing with swords.

Almost all demons in Satan's legion were slain, leaving the devil himself and Nick. Gabriel and Michael were under pressure against their former, fallen brother.

"This is now thy fall, Lucifer. Thou art now in a ground for thy retreat to Hell." warned Michael to the fallen angel.

"Be not too certain, Michael. Still, there is nothing thou canst do." replied Lucifer.

Meanwhile, the two hooded opponents were in a silent but deadly duel.

The now-wounded Nick forced himself to deflect the sacred arrows shot by the lady in white. On the other hand, the same lady was repeatedly slashed by the Gehenna sword the demi-fiend wielded, becoming critically injured in the process.

This time, these two were getting serious. Enraged, these two purposely underwent metamorphosis.

The hooded lady grew bright white wings as she glowed with radiant light and a halo in her head. She showed her towheaded blonde hair, her eyes grew as bright as flames, and her skin getting pale white. Her arrows glowed with bright light, as her bow became durable with angelic feathers decorating its recurves.

On the contrary, Nick had his bat-like wings protruding on his back, thus tearing his robe and splashing it with blood. He had his horns showed up on his head. His spine grew bony spikes, his hands and feet grew sharp nails, his eyes darkening into black, his teeth getting sharper, and his body shrouded with Hell's wicked black flames. To finally tear his cloak, he grew a sharp, spiky tail. His sword, Gehenna, changed into a cursed greatsword with flesh and blood of the slain warriors shown.

Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer also saw such transfiguration by the two chosen beings.

"This must be our opportunity. Lucifer, prepare to be vanquished!" exclaimed Michael to his fallen brother.

"Not this time. Thou knowest not that there is something I will tell thee." said Lucifer.

"Eh? What would that be?"

"This world lived by humans is my kingdom. They all bow down to me. This world is creating its own hell. The people in it and around it are its demons. Sin is what makes humans and demons have in common. I am not the one who made them evil; they did evil by themselves. They hated evil but they did what is evil for them. They chose the good side but they did not do what is good."

"Foolish! These human beings are still loved by the Lord our Father, even if they are sinners. Yes, indeed, He hateth sins; but he loveth sinners. And every human being has a purpose and a goal. Besides, we angels want the humans to follow what is right and good for them, while knowing the wages of sin and the consequences of their decisions."

"Still, if they are caught committing sins, I am not to be blamed. Their worst enemy is not me, Michael. They themselves are their own enemies, not the demons."

"And we will not let them be tainted by sin. This time, thou art my enemy."

Michael and Lucifer went on a duel with swords. As they collided, the devil laughed at his rage.

"Methinks that thou art under control of thy rage against me, Michael. Now, loath me more!" Lucifer taunted and laughed.

"Brother, thou needest an assistance!" interrupted Gabriel.

"I can do this, Gabriel. Thou just go back to Heaven and bring with thee reinforcements if this battle is not over." Michael denied and continued his duel against the devil.

As both sides were under tension, storms and flames were a catastrophic effect to the battle.

Nick, now a transfigured demon, shot black fireballs to the transfigured angel, who also fired holy orbs of light. Then, the female demi-angel shot him sacred arrows. As a result, the demi-fiend was under attack. Nick resisted and used his sword to stab her, while parrying a series of arrow shots. Successfully, he slashed her and stabbed her chest; but the lady remained unharmed. On the other hand, Nick was now prone to burns.

As Nick was about to deliver a coup de grace to the lady, he was shot to the head by a sacred arrow and fell on his sword. A splash of blood flowed from the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Michael and Lucifer continued to sever each other's bodies through swords; and the archangel cast holy flames to his fallen brother who cast fireballs from Hell.

It was when Michael cast a lightning bolt to Lucifer that secured his victory. At that time, both went exhausted, injured, and weak. The archangel still stood, bending his knees and pointing his Sword of the Spirit to the devil.

"This is thy trap, Lucifer."

"How... could this... be?"

The sun showed up rising slowly from the mountains, and it began another dawn.

"Thou art winning, Michael, but take note of this: I will still reign this world. I will reclaim my rightful place in Heaven, and I shall sing thy agony in its halls." Lucifer stated his words.

"It is not going to happen." said Michael.

The devil slowly shifted himself into a snake through black smoke and laughed at Michael as he crawled away. The archangel disappeared through a ray of light from the sky.

All that were left were the two human beings. Nick was collapsed, and the lady walked towards him. The demi-angel dropped her bow and touched his head.

Later, an awakened Nick was encouraged to stand with the lady. They both faced and held each other's hands. As the two stood straight and watched the sun slowly rising, they both disappeared at an instant.


	10. The Eighth

Several days later, at night, Nick slowly wandered around the streets of Caldeum, doubting his purpose. He had a deep thought while walking slowly.

"I do not deserve this life. I killed the townsfolk. I slew their allies. I serve my master, who is in fact a killer, a deceiver, or a tyrant. Satan... he is the one who bestowed me with dark magic, and he wanted me to use it for his own desire. For evil, yes. I knew what Draven said to me."

* * *

"Nick, we all apologize. Forgive us, for all thou sayest are true. But it is not always like this to us. Thou art a human being, art thou not?"

"How canst thou?"

"We human beings, like both of us, have freedom of choice. We all can do what we want to do. We also made mistakes, but not all mistakes are sins. All of us have the same purpose, and Nick, I am telling thee, such purpose we all have is not about what thou sayest right now."

* * *

"I have learned from him... that all of us have the same purpose in this world. Now, I must teach the Devil a new lesson. I want him to know my true purpose!"

As he strolled without a weapon, wearing a black cape, a maroon brigandine, black trousers, and a pair of brown boots, he met a bald priest wearing a white robe.

"Greetings!" said the priest.

"Who art thou?" asked Nick in serious tone.

"I am here to enlighten thy heart and mind, my friend."

"What dost thou want from me?"

"Simple. I will teach thee how to be a better person."

"Shall I confess to thee one thing?"

"Of course, my friend. But first, thou shalt know anything about God, our Creator. Thou shalt also know more about the angels and demons. Before anything else, may I know thy name?"

"Nick."

"All right, thy name is Nick. Thou canst call me Leo, an Augustinian friar. By the way, I have rules for thee."

"Rule number one: Follow the Ten Commandments. These are the rules of our Creator that all of us should follow."

"Rule number two: Be cooperate. Help those who are in need, but not those who are evil."

"And rule number three: Read the basic instructions before leaving Earth."

"And what are the basic instructions before leaving Earth, Leo?"

"Thou canst find them in this sacred book I held, Nick."

"I am sorry, but I am not into books."

"This sacred book is not just a book. This is a powerful weapon that containeth inspiring stories that reveal, expose, and transform thee. This book hath a life-changing power. And hold on, we will first discuss thee about thyself. Say something, Nick, and I am open to anything thou sayest."

* * *

The dead emperor, now in his grave, was visited by a black hooded figure wielding a staff with a skull on top.

The hooded figure was followed by twelve other hooded figures that clasped their hands and formed a circle around the grave.

As they left the grave, they went to the same chaparral that Nick wandered and haunted the devotees. They drew a summoning pentagram and illuminated the candles on the ground.

Each of them chanted,

"I call to the spirits, I call to the dead, let me see our dear emperor once again. I call to thee, come back to me to reunite once more. I wish to see whom I seek, whom I miss so mote it be."

Moments later, the restless souls screamed as they wandered around the circle of hooded figures and even inside the graveyard.

Nick, wandering the chaparral, witnessed the whirl of souls.

"It is now inevitable."

In the graveyard, the ground began to tremble as the hands, heads, and trunks of the now living corpses began to rise. Some of the graves contain Crawlers, Shades, and living skeletons.

"The necromancers have done this!" said Nick, as he somehow heard the sinister laughter of the hooded figures, whom he thought are the necromancers.

Preparing with him five candles, a small basin of water, lavender, sage leaves, and even his own blood, he performed a ritual to summon the Inferi using a flaming pentagram.

"Spiritu transita Sinite, videamus ea virtutis Princeps nexu Sciatis nos tanta communicare." chanted Nick.

A dark aura around the pentagram created another tremor and from below, the Inferi once again appeared through columns of flame.

Nick hastily walked to the chaparral with the burning horned skeletons and underwent a confrontation with the Crawlers, Shades, zombies, and living skeletons.

"So thou art the Prince of Darkness, Nick. Are we right?" the hooded necromancer with a staff asked.

"Aye, and I want thee to unveil thy cloaks and face me without fear." answered Nick.

"Before we will unveil our cloaks, Nick, let me remind thee that the summoning of the undead has begun. We are tasked by the Devil to bring plague and death to this town, and thou, who art interfering our ritual, wilt be the first to suffer this grim manipulation."

"And let me remind thee, hooded creature, that I am also serving the Devil thou art tasked to."

"Scum! Begone thou foul falsifier. Unveil thy cloaks in his gaze, flay, and seize his own twisted soul!"

"Yes, master!" the twelve dark acolytes initiated a battle against Nick and the Inferi skeletons.

The Hell Spawns suddenly appeared at the back of the acolytes and threw blood darts at them, but missed.

"I call upon thee, my trusted undead minions. Now, be summoned!" the necromancer chanted and the Crawlers and Zombies immediately charged at the Inferi and the Hell Spawns.

"I have a mysterious offering especially crafted for thee, necromancer. Come to thee and accept it." taunted Nick as he went closer to the necromancer.

"Make sure that I will be impressed by thy offering, Prince of Darkness."

"So be it."

Nick launched his sword Gehenna and immediately made the first strike against the necromancer.

"What was that offering of thine? It just slit my arm!" exclaimed the necromancer.

"Forgive me, dark caster. I just force thee to unveil thy cloak, face me, and fight me. Thou art looking like a coward in that cloak."

"Leasing-monger!"

With the cloak unveiled, the necromancer was actually a spirit of an evil queen named Riel. Riel was now a phantom wielding two large blades in both hands. The dark acolytes were phantoms, too.

"An honor to fight me, evil spirits." taunted Nick.

"Call me Riel. I am a phantom tasked by the Devil to haunt thee."

"Haunt me? Methinks that it is interesting."

"Interesting? Now thy death will be more interesting."

"Call it a challenge, Riel."

Nick and Riel both clashed, as the Hell Spawns and the Inferi were in a bloody battle against the Crawlers, Zombies, Skeletons, Shades, and Riel's Phantoms.

Meanwhile, the dead body of the tyrant emperor Sol had slain came back to life.

"Oh... my... goodness..." exclaimed Nick.

* * *

In the palace where Sol stayed, they heard the shaking of the ground and the screams of the dead.

"Nick... He hath returned..." assumed Draven.

"We better get ready. The living corpses will invade Caldeum tonight." warned Sol.

"I will go with thee, His Majesty."

"Not now."

Led by Sol, the knights marched out of the palace, and proceeded to the chaparral. As they paraded in, they were ambushed by the living corpses that also roamed out there.

"Everyone! NOW!" exclaimed Sol, beginning their clash against the living corpses.

Meanwhile, the battle between Nick and Riel continued as the Prince of Darkness cast a black fireball against the phantoms. Sadly, Riel and her phantoms were immune to his black magic.

"What? How is this possible?" exclaimed the shocked Nick, followed by Riel's sinister laughter.

"Not obvious, Nick? We were bestowed by the Devil immunity to dark spells of those who betrayed his command. And thou art one of them."

"How canst thou be sure that I betrayed him? Any burdens of proof?"

"TAKE THIS!" interrupted a screaming male voice.

A lightning spear flashed and exploded on contact with the phantoms, and they vanished at an instant, leaving Riel alone to fight with Nick.

"Draven..."

"Nick! I see thee! I want thee to change to a better man who can help the residents of Caldeum! I want thee to know thy purpose!" screamed the male voice, which was from Draven himself.

"Draven! I want thee and thy knights to attack the corpses wandering in the woods! I will attack that haunting lady that summoned them. I am warning thee. One of the living corpses hath a crown!" replied Nick.

"A living corpse having a crown? I knew him!" responded Sol. "I need to find him, Nick! Right now!"

"His Majesty, we still shall be careful of Nick. We may know not, for what I saw him is of a demonic visage." warned Draven.

"Exorcise Nick first, and we'll proceed to finding the crowned corpse."

"I will do it, Master."

Draven charged to Nick, who was still in a grim duel with Riel.

"A human interrupted us?" asked Riel upon seeing the squire.

"Draven!" charged Nick.

The lightning spear and the Gehenna sword came into contact once again.

"Who is that haunting lady thou art speaking of?" asked Draven in rage.

"My enemy right now." spoke Nick.

Both released their weapons, but Riel easily disappeared with a sinister laughter.

"No way! Thou shalt not intervene me, Draven!" angered Nick, who also faded in the dark.

Draven, who was speechless afterwards, decided to walk back to Sol's army. Unknowingly, the Inferi stalked him with ease.


	11. The Ninth

The following dawn, Nick visited the chapel where Leo resided.

As he opened the door, a girl in white showed. He was shocked and forced himself to remember the past about his battle against the same girl wielding a bow with sacred arrows.

"Come." said the girl.

Inside, Leo was absent. Only Nick and the girl in white dress remained. Suddenly, Nick attempted to cast his fireball but was cancelled by her purification spell.

"Oh... I thought not that thou wert the same girl in white I have faced before. So be it." said he.

"And also with thee." replied she.

Both cancelled their magical powers and returned to their seats.

"But right now, I will be thy ally. I know thou hast mortally sinned before, but the Lord wants thee to come back to Him." spoke the girl in white.

"But He hates sins. How I wish that I will go back to Him while I have sinned a lot against many people? Who can accept a murderer, a dark occultist, and even a person who hath evil plans to mankind?" doubted Nick.

"Yes, He hates sins, but He loves those who hath sinned against anyone, including thee."

"How canst thou explain this?"

"No matter how much we hurt others, or how much they hurt us, we still love each other at all times. What He wanteth us to do is to love each other like people always do to others, and when we made mistakes to others, we shall confess to them and ask them forgiveness, and when they did the same to us, we shall forgive them."

"So thou wantest me to change to someone who can help mankind."

"Exactly. By the way, may I know thy name?"

"Nick."

"And I am Maria. Nice meeting thee."

But, something interrupted their conversation. The whispering wind even blew the candles and chandeliers inside.

"Someone wanteth me dead." warned Nick.

"I will go with thee, Nick." responded the girl in white.

As they went outside, dangerous wraiths haunted the chapel and Riel surprisingly ambushed Nick, grabbed his neck, and forced him inside.

"Surprise." taunted Riel.

"Then hit me." taunted Nick, pushing her to the wall.

Riel equipped a short dagger and attempted to pierce Nick's chest but the demi-fiend disintegrated himself to black smoke.

"What?" Riel was shocked.

"Dost thou think that I will be dead? Think again." Nick reappeared in front of her.

"Grrrrrrrrrr!" exclaimed the angry Riel, who tried to charge at Nick but was blocked by Maria.

"Try me instead, phantom." challenged the girl in white.

"Who art thou?"

"Thou wilt know me soon enough."

Maria shot a sacred arrow at Riel's chest which delivered a blow to her.

"Nick, I will take care of this."

Suddenly, a storm brewed in the town of Caldeum. The souls of the dead screamed while being sucked in at Riel's throat. Lightning flashed before Nick and Maria managed to escape from the chapel. Bats were also summoned as the phantom unleashed a ritual to create her afterimages.

"Disperse, my sisters! Go and feed the souls of our enemies!"

Riel summoned her shadow clones to distract Nick and Maria, in which they were forced to attack them.

"Come to me!" instructed Maria.

"I'm with thee." replied Nick, resulting a teleportation out of the chapel.

Now that Riel and her afterimages were inside the chapel, Maria made an opportunity to shoot multiple sacred arrows at once. Nick rushed near the chapel.

"I will clear the inside."

Nick charged the phantoms with his Gehenna sword and managed to block their spectral daggers.

"Grab them in!" shouted Maria, looking for an opportunity.

Nick purposely grabbed the hands of Riel's phantoms and threw them out of the chapel for Maria to shoot them with holy arrows.

The arrows pierced at their mouths and through their throats, brightening and blinding them to their screaming deaths, disintegrating them into patches of white smoke.

"Riel, I am here. Bring me thy best step to my execution!" taunted Nick.

"I will assure thee that thou wilt feel regret for betraying the Infernal Legion!" challenged the furious Riel.

"So be it. Tell that demon lord of thine that I am ready to be his offering of ritual abuse."

"Arrrrrggggghhhh!"

Instantly, Riel disappeared at Nick's sight as she reappeared near him in order to stab him, but he stepped back to dodge at her spectral daggers. The evil female phantom invoked bolts of lightning since Nick was now outside, and she called the bats to fly at him and bite him.

Nick swung his Gehenna sword, now bestowed with hellfire, to the approaching bats.

The bats, burned in screaming agony, exploded with blood splashing at the Prince of Darkness.

"Traitor! I am not done of thee!" screamed Riel.

Suddenly, a dark vortex summoned thousands of arms and hands of the screaming souls of the damned, grabbing the surprised Nick and dragging him in. The vortex slowly faded.

"Nick! Come back here!" angered Riel, who was replied with a sinister laughter.

"Nick!" screamed Maria.

Riel, seeing no Nick in her eyes, was suddenly attacked by Maria's sacred arrows. Luckily, she disappeared and laughed at the Princess of Light.

The rain had stopped as Maria safely left the chapel.

"Where doth Nick go? This canth be not true!" she exclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile in the woods...

"Majesty, we have to retreat, lest Nick will haunt us again." suggested the exhausted Draven.

"Well then, we need to go back for further reinforcements. Shalt thou leave us again, and I will let thee wander the whole town to slay demons alone. I told ye, Nick is a force to be reckoned with." demanded Sol.

The army of knights paraded back to the castle, but unknowingly, a strange being with an old crown stared at them.

* * *

Nick, who was dragged by the damned souls, was transported to another place in Hell, a desolate, dark, barren place where only he can hear the screams of souls and the ground was inscribed with Satan's occult runes.

"Now what?" it was Nick who started to get frustrated.

An ominous laughter haunted him, appearing as a shadow at his back. Nick shivered himself and turned around quickly.

"So let me ask thee a simple question, Nick." said the shadow.

"Lucifer!" Nick was shocked.

"Thou hast made a choice to change thyself, hast thou not?"

"Yes, and I will no longer recognize thee as my Master. This hath become my choice. I have learned from my victims that there is always time for us to change, no matter how difficult the situation is. Every human hath sinned, but it meaneth not that they will be condemned to eternal suffering through hellfire after death. Forgiveness changeth them from sinners to anyone who can help others."

"And why choosest thou to turn away from me?" angered the Devil.

"I learned that thou art not the worst enemy, it is I who is hostile to myself. But, it wast thou who drove me to this self-hostility. I have sinned myself and others because of such manipulation thou hast used on me. Thy rule, right now, is easy to be disobeyed."

"So be it, I have given thee a second chance, so do not defy me. If the Infernal Legion hath seen thee turning back against us again, thou wilt meet thy meaningless death in Hell. Thou art about to witness my eternal wrath."

After these words, the shadow, who was Satan, disappeared. With his disappearance, Nick was dragged back to the town of Caldeum and collapsed.


	12. The Tenth

A dark vortex with screaming souls gradually appeared in the chaparral and released Nick. He was helpless and barely breathing, forcing himself to realize what was in his own testimony.

A soft, tranquil voice allowed him to lend his ears.

"What is wrong with thee, Nick? Art thou alright?"

"What... have I..." doubted Nick.

"Thou hast never done wrong, Nick. Thou art fighting for the innocent people."

"But I... I am evil..."

"No, Nick. Thou art not evil. Thou hast done anything good to thyself, and to others."

"What good?"

A radiant wisp of light shone on him and whirled around him. Nick forced himself to stick to the shadows and scurry away from the light.

"Nick... thou hast done things good to anyone. Even a small effort canth be a big help to the people."

"Forgive me... I have sinned against thee..." Nick was saddened.

"Nick, I had seen the light inside thy heart. I know thou hast done countless sins to Me and to the other people, but all I need is forgiveness and faith in Me. Thou art walking a step closer to the good and right path. For that, I forgive you. But, I have a mission for thee. Face thy own kind and slay the demons that haunt thee."

The radiant wisp of light faded; but Nick, who was blinded, was still emotionally unstable. He was forced to remember his killings, his demonic metamorphosis, and his loyalty to the Devil. Voices clashed inside his mind and soul, which forced him to choose either to slay his fellow demon-kind, or to stay loyal to Satan and his Infernal Legion.

"Caedite eos!" from the voices of the demons.

"Miserere!" from the voices of the souls in agony.

"I still have my doubts..." Nick said to himself.

* * *

In the desolate plains before the break of dawn, Maria appeared through a flash of radiant light and met an angel standing behind her. The angel spread his glowing white wings which allowed her to turn to him.

"Maria."

The tranquilly soothing voice of the angel allowed Maria to turn slowly to him. It was actually Gabriel showing up.

"The townsfolk shall be wary of Satan's machinations, because human beings may be tempted to do anything evil, be it by force or by choice. Satan is capable of turning anyone against the Lord, but this can be avoided by their awareness and faith in Him." spoke the archangel.

"I agree on thee. What can we do for the people to come back to our Master?" asked Maria.

"Like us, demons are always present in every place; even in the minds, hearts, and souls of the people. To effectively face and deal with these inner demons needs mindfulness, acceptance, optimism, and resilience."

"I understand, brother."

"I know that human beings are under struggle with demons inside them. Facing these demons will help them change for the better."

"The Prince of Darkness shall know what we say. He is constantly under struggle with the demons inside him and around him. He claimeth to be evil, but I know that he canth change."

"Dost thou mean the demi-fiend thou facest?"

"Yes, brother. I want him not to be part of the Devil's machinations, but I encourage him to be in allegiance to the Lord."

"If it is according to thy choice, then we will be glad that thou wilt follow it."

Maria nodded in response to Gabriel's words, and the archangel disappeared by a ray of light from above.

"Nick shall be warned of this!" Maria said to herself and hastily ran away.

* * *

Still in the dark chaparral while the sun was not yet rising, Nick sat quietly until somebody tapped his back.

"Nick... lend me thy ear..." said the angelic voice.

"I will be open." replied Nick.

"Wilt thou face and deal thy demons inside thy head and around thee?"

"It seemeth that I am confused of what I have done..."

"I know that thou art confused. That is why I will be here for thee, encouraging thee to be enlightened by me."

"Maria... art thou here?"

"I am... and there is something thou wilt need to know more."

"What would it be?"

"Thou art in a constant struggle against demons. Not only the demons hast thou seen either on earth or in Hell, but also the demons inside thee."

"I know. But I have my own mentality to defend as well. Even the priests will judge me. Nothing is sacred to me."

"Thou hast found difficulties to redeem thyself, but I assure thee, the Lord will save thee from thy sins. I will tell them that thou art deserving in Heaven. I promise, we will do our best to break thy evil heritage."

* * *

In the dark forests of Caldeum, numerous men in black robes appeared, carrying daggers and wore various heads or skulls depending on their ranks - apprentices, disciples, elites, and masters.

First, the apprentices wore skulls of goats without horns. Second, the disciples wore goat skulls as well, this time with horns. Third, the elites wore skulls of rams. And lastly, their master wore a deer skull. Their master wielded a staff fashioned with a ram skull on top and three human skulls dangling around it.

These men were following a dark cult, as seen when some of them carried candles in solemn rituals.

"Welcome to the Cult of the Khazra." announced the master.

The cultists clapped in response.

"Now that we gather together in this event, each of ye has a quest to fulfill, for the glorification of our lord."

"What is our quest, master?" said a cultist.

"Prepare the slaughter of goats, rams, and deer. The sacrifices will begin six days from now. There is a feast that a lot of visitors will come. They will be subjected to our initiation!"

"Yes, master!" The cultists agreed on him.

Also found in the woods came a living shadowy being, overseeing the cult of Khazra.

"Well done, my trusted worshipers. Make the people believe in thee, and they will follow me. My plan worked perfectly, thanks to thee and thy fellow cultists."

The shadow disintegrated in black smoke and faded away, while the cultists were about to invade the lands, finding subjects for initiation rites.


	13. The Eleventh

Nick, who was now alone in the chaparral, closed his eyes and visualized about Satan's plans against him.

 _"The Cult of Khazra. This cult hath performed numerous occult rituals - rituals that no one canth understand other than them. They wore goat, ram, or deer skulls, depending on their ranks. Blood magic, summoning, and curses are three of their main magic spells. And a shadowy being is what they worship and glorify..."_

"The cultists!" He opened his eyes and realized something.

Nick stood up quickly and began searching for the cultists by venturing to the dark forest.

Two ghosts, who stalked him invisibly, followed him.

"Where art thou going, my friend?" said the male ghost.

"I am going to the hideout of the Khazra cult." replied Nick.

"We will help thee track their location, my friend." encouraged the female ghost.

"I believe thou both art supposedly dead."

"Yes, indeed, but we have unfinished business in life. We both need thy help. We want not to go to Hell and be burned in eternal fire... we seek for forgiveness..."

"It will take time."

"Demons!"

In front of Nick they gazed at the demons he called Brutes. Each demon has two large horns, zombie-like bodies, sharp claws, and a big open-wide mouth with large teeth and large sharp tongues. These demons carried traditional butcher knives and their arms are wrapped by living snakes. They also covered their lower parts by torn black clothing, and they screamed like possessed people under exorcisms. The two ghosts hid themselves at Nick's back.

"I do not know thee yet, but let me take care of these Brutes. Move back." warned Nick.

The mournful ghosts vanished out of nowhere and Nick, alone, grabbed his Gehenna sword and unleashed hell at the Brutes.

"No remorse, blood for blood." said Nick to the Brutes, initiating a melee clash.

The butcher knives parried at Nick's sword, and he was put under pressure by the Brutes.

"For the victims under trauma." Nick was motivated by the ghosts, as he raised his sword and jumped up high, waiting for an opportunity to strike the demons.

"Do not worry; God will always have a greater plan for thee."

Nick slashed the necks of some Brutes, releasing blood and beheading them as a result.

Suddenly, the other Brutes stabbed him at the back.

"Oh yeah?"

Nick forced his open hand to release the stabbing knives, which released his blood from his back and his hands. He kicked the Brutes and slashed them afterwards.

It was at this moment that the two ghosts reappeared.

"May we have a request?" said the female ghost.

Nick raised his eyebrows, while the last Brute collapsed in a pool of blood.

"After thou takest down the Khazra cultists, we will take thee to the place of the Fallen Emperor's castle."

"I believe the Knights of Caldeum will take care of his revenant knights. But what can I do there?"

"We were once his loyal servants even if we are just normal smiths. But I do not like his brutal and manipulative despot attitude. He just treated us like his lowly pawns, and when we failed to accomplish our given quests from him, we will be doomed to die by his hands alone." sobbed the male ghost.

"I am not aware of it yet, but I will follow thee in that strange place. But for now, lead me to the Khazra hideout." replied Nick.

"My thanks..."

"If there are demons that will cross our way, hide to a safer place. Do not attack, for thou wilt be defenseless. I will be the one who will take them down."

"I will keep that in mind during our journey."

* * *

Meanwhile...

The shadowy being met with Satan, who disguised as a forest serpent.

"Do not let them see thy true form yet. Wait until they fell into thy trap. Remember, thou art my equal when it comes to being cunning." said the Devil.

"My lord, our plan is not yet done. The cult will pave the way to mankind's downfall." insisted the shadow figure.

"Indeed? Somehow thou knowest what these mortals are up to, but thou must go unnoticed. Manipulate the minds of these beings. These humans are mindful creatures, but their blind faith, their egotism, and their ignorance of reality are their weak spots."

The serpent left after delivering his last words to the shadow figure, which led him to disintegrate into black smoke and left the forest as well.

* * *

Moments later, Nick and the ghosts stalked the whole place.

"Be warned. The enemy is watching thee."

The Khazra cultists searched for random people, hoping that they will join their cult and believe in their mentalities.

One cultist, who showed his face and did not carry anything, spoke to a resident in Caldeum.

"Come to us, and we are free to give thee what thou wantest. There is nothing wrong in joining our religious group. Also, we are also worshiping the Lord God." said the cultist.

"Oh, I see. Is there any initial fee for me to join?" asked the resident.

"No need to pay anything. It's all free."

"Okay, I wanna talk to my friends about it. When will we meet again?"

"I will come back after three days. Canst thou make it?"

"I will try that."

While some of the cultists interacted with the townspeople, the other cultists performed a ritual for them to summon the Goatmen. Each of them, obviously, have a head of a goat, and a body of a man. These Goatmen acted like primitive human beings, wielding spears, axes, or spiked clubs on offense.

The Goatmen were tasked to guard the Khazra hideout, while the cultists inside drew a strange circular symbol which, to Nick's surprise, is used to establish connection with the strange being.

"Hmmm... methinks it is interesting. What strange supreme being doth every one worship?" responded Nick.

"Look, a new guest." responded another cultist.

Nick was visited by that cultist.

"Hello, my friend, I am here to..."

"Wait... I sensed something interesting which reflects my character as a demon. Dost thou worship demons and the occult?" asked Nick.

"No. We worship the Lord, for we are created in His image."

But Nick seemed unsatisfied.

"This seems odd. There hath been a presence of the 'Khazra beasts', as I wander around thy hideout."

"We never summoned any, the Devil secretly created them." said another cultist.

"Well, if this is true, thou wilt tell the priests about the true teachings of the cult of the Khazra. If false, the Devil just corrupted thy minds." warned Nick.

The cultists were shocked of Nick's words. It was at this moment that the Khazra cult leader just arrived.

"Sacrifice this man. He is against our cult's vision." ordered the cult leader.

The Goatmen, together with the Khazra cultists, confronted Nick and initiated the clash.

"We supposedly bring the future Neophytes to our initiation, but because of thee, and thy demonic vision which is against our own..." warned the cult leader but was stopped by Nick.

"No need to tell me the consequence. I know that God will seal my fate, even thine."

"Ille insidias suspicatur!"

"Vade."

While the Khazra cult leader stomped his staff, the Goatmen and a few Khazra disciples managed to attack him, but with Gehenna, Nick parried the disciples' daggers and the Goatmen's polearms. He then countered with a few slashes. While this happens, an equally bloody battle was fought.

Nick cast a hellfire ball towards the Goatmen, and even the cultists were hit by its hellish explosion.

"I have sensed the corruption inside thee, Prince of Darkness." said the cult leader, which made Nick chuckle a bit with his lips closed.

"Just tell me who between us is the lesser of two evils."

Blood splashed at some of the Goatmen as Nick flayed the souls of a few cultists with the shadow bolts coming from his fingers. The affected cultists barely breathed and struggled to get up in place, while the Goatmen were left fatally wounded by Nick's sword mastery. None of the Goatmen and the cultists were killed... yet.

Because of this, the cultists turned to their fellow cultists and Goatmen in severe danger. Nick simply tilted his head at the cult leader.

"Do not worry, my friend. I am not here to kill anyone of thy 'sacred' group, but I will come back when the cult's initiation ceremony will be done. Be sure that what thou didst benefiteth the masses. If not, then the claim of thy fellow cultist saying that ye worshiped the Lord... becometh useless."

"Cursed mongrel..." responded the cult leader, but Nick disappeared like a ghost.

* * *

Meanwhile in Leo's chapel, Nick had a conversation with the same two ghosts.

"Six days from now, the initiation ceremony of the Khazra cult will begin. Right now, they make efforts to persuade and eventually recruit the town residents. Not just in Caldeum, but also in other fiefs as well." said the male ghost.

"So I will wait after six days. I will first allow the Devil to take a great advantage." suggested Nick.

"But... why? Art thou the Devil's General?"

"Once, but I left the Infernal Legion in search for a new meaning."

Suddenly, a ray of light illuminated the chapel, lighting up the candles inside.

"Nick, since I have seen the light behind thy eyes, I will guide thee to what is good and right."

A female angel showed up, and she turned into the same lady in white dress Nick saw before.

"Who is that angel?" asked the female ghost.

"It is Maria." replied Nick.

The ghosts covered themselves at Nick's back. Maria prayed,

"Veni Sancte Spiritus, tui amoris ignem accende..."

After a long prayer, Nick started to feel an unbearable sensation and was weakened, while the radiant light healed his wounds and scars. He was forced to scream, kneel, shake himself in pain, and eventually lay down on the floor. The two crying ghosts, on the other hand, glowed bright while being removed of their sadness and guilt.

While Nick struggled to get up in place, Maria gently touched his left cheek and removed the negative emotions he had. A bit of black smoke came out from his body.

As the light faded and the chapel was back to its original ambience, Nick felt exhausted and the ghosts cried.

"Do not worry. He will be healed in time, I promise." Maria encouraged them in response.

Nick slowly opened his eyes while laying down on the floor.

"I am his ally," she added.

The ghosts hugged both of them and stayed inside the chapel for a while.


	14. The Twelfth

The next day, Nick met an angel that looked perfect in his eyes.

"Who art thou?" said he.

"I know thee, thou knowest me not; but I will tell thee about a Demon Lord's associations with the Khazra cult." replied the angel.

"A Demon Lord is behind this sacrifice?"

"Exactly, they intend to purge the world from evil, but behind this mentality is a dark secret."

"So the Devil sendeth a Demon Lord, who in turn disguised as the cult leader; and anyone who wanteth to join the cult needeth to sign a diabolical contract."

"However, they reveal to us the Grand Initiation, not behind it. They are charismatic - people really want to join this cult for untold power, in exchange of strong faith in the Lord and of the critical reasoning. 'Tis a difficult task, Nick. Many of the darkest evil acts are hidden behind the scenes. The Khazra cult will sever thy faith in exchange of fulfilling their vision."

"If I join them, they will control all of me. Is that what thou art trying to say?"

"On point, Nick."

"That is why I have to wait for that Grand Initiation, and I already warned them that I am watching."

"Convince them that no religion can save them."

"So be it. Now get away from me."

The angel faded through a bright ray of light, and a black angel was just in front of him watching.

"I'm warning thee, Prince of Darkness. Not all angels are good, not all demons are evil. It might be possible that the angel thou art confronting is actually a devil in disguise."

"Zen?" called Nick, upon seeing the familiar visage.

The black angel disappeared, as Nick was shocked of what he said. Nevertheless, he pursued to wait for the day the Grand Initiation rite will start.

* * *

The next day, Maria and Nick engaged in a conversation regarding the Grand Initiation rite.

"An angel sent thee?" asked she.

"Aye... However I never knew yet if he sided with the Heavenly Host or he actually is a demon from the Infernal Legion." answered he.

"I also experienced this case, Nick. There are angels who wish to disobey the Lord's commandments."

"And there are demons who choose to live in harmony with the humans."

"Nick, be not fooled. Thou know not if thou art manipulated by the Devil or not. But worry not, the Heavenly Host will help thee."

"I believe the Heavenly Host hath a grudge towards me. It is all on myself right now. Even humans can judge the way I look and act, without knowing the truth behind my choice."

"Nick, listen to me. I am here to help thee. We are both humans, but our spirits are on opposite realms. The Lord is a merciful and a just Supreme Being thou wilt meet, and in Him, we will know the truth behind anything we want to know."

"No religion can save me, Maria."

"But thy faith can, Nick."

Nick, now wearing a maroon frock coat with a black overfrock, black trousers, and a pair of black boots, unleashed his sword and went out of the chapel.

"I'll find a permanent shelter, not this. I'll be blamed for blasphemy if someone seeth me doing this..." said he, while the two ghosts vanished.

"I'll go with thee." encouraged Maria, who now wore a white dress with a turquoise blue bodice and a pair of ivory sandals.

Later, a parade of hooded peasants led by a black hooded cultist came during the initiation rite, and even one of the townsfolk in Caldeum did not spectate.

Nick and Maria spectated the initiation rite.

The Khazra cultists started a chant which began their solemn rite. This is where Nick started to move.

"We stand armed and dangerous before the bloody fields of history; devoid of dogma, but ready to carve, to defy the transient; ready to stab forth with our penetrative will..."

The initiates, who were unaware of the ritual, had the urge to escape from the clutches of the Khazra. However, they were still captured by the cultists.

"Ye dalcops..." cursed Nick, sneaking on the ceremony.

"Maria, this way." a ghost pointed to a safer place so that Maria could observe better.

The Princess of Light secretly grabbed Illumina, a heavenly bow, and continued watching the ceremony.

"I respect their faith; but if their way of worshiping is through human sacrifices, I will not accept." said Maria.

The initiates who resisted were placed on stone slabs, with their bodies chained around the slabs.

The cultists slowly slit the necks of the resisting initiates using special daggers, while the remaining initiates had their heads touched by the cultists, draining their thoughts.

An exploding fireball hit numerous cultists, forcing them to drop their daggers and search for the location where it was shot.

"What is happening?" said the cult leader.

"We are about to sacrifice these initiates, but somebody getteth in our way!" said a cultist.

"Leasing-mongers!"

The cultists used their daggers and even the Goatmen came to assist them. However, they still never knew where the fireball came from.

It was until a man in black with a pallid skin color and red eyes came in front of them.

"I know thee, Prince of Darkness..." said the cult leader, initiating a second battle.

The chains and fetters glowed in bright light and were shattered, releasing the captured initiates.

Holy spiritual arrows were fired and some of the cultists were shot in the heads. Blood flowed out from their heads and were blinded by the sacred light.

"Maria?" doubted the Prince of Darkness, who felt that he got few chances to strike.

"The cult leader ran away, after him!" replied she.

"Damn..."

"Thou canst not get in my way, fool!" said the cult leader.

"Unless I understood what thy religion hath explicated." countered Nick.

The cult leader was suddenly zapped. Upon his paralysis, Zen appeared.

"Let me help thee." said Zen.

Using his spiritual strength and instincts, Zen stabbed each Goatman with his claws. Nick ran away to chase the cult leader, who got up from his unconsciousness earlier.

But before the cult leader got his advantage over Nick, a dark mist surrounded him.

"Semper in te mala!" versed the cult leader.

"Et exocquam ad me." replied the slow dark voice.

"Tu quis es? TU QUIS ES?"

As the cult leader prepared his staff to unleash black magic, a demon grabbed his black cloak and pulled him.

The demon, using his sword, battered the helpless cult leader to death. Blood splashed from such brutal battering. However, the cult leader threw a dagger to the chest and started to escape again.

Long bloody wounds to the cult leader were unseen; but the demon removed the dagger forcefully and slowly walked towards him, even if blood flowed from his chest.

"Thou art tested, fiend. Hell awaits thee." said the cult leader, still running away even suffering the injury.

"Master of lies..." spoke the demon, who disappeared in black mist after the confrontation.

Meanwhile...

Blood flowed in the streets where the Grand Initiation took place. The initiates ran towards Maria.

"Believe me. May the Lord God bless each of thee. All He wanteth is for thee to have faith in Him, to love one another as ye love Him, and never to lose hope in any bad happening. I know thou hast sinned, but He wanteth thee to forgive and be forgiven. What people really want from thee is also what the Lord wanteth from thee. Remember that."

The initiates still doubted themselves. Some of them even bowed their heads down in despair.

"Their choices to join, their lives to sacrifice." said Zen, walking away but was stopped by the demon.

"Zen... I must thank thee for this..."

"Thank me not, Nick. I have reasons to help them too. By the way, the cult leader is assumed to be Belial, the master of deceit and lies."

"Doth the Devil summon him, or he is actually showing up?"

"I know not, but do not fool thyself. There may be Demon Lords lurking in Caldeum, and even in Zantrom. It's not only the Devil who attacked the citizens."

Zen left the place as Nick turned himself back to his human form.

Leo, riding a white horse, sent Nick a private invitation.

"Nick, I am sending to thee an invitation regarding a recollection. The Cardinal will also be involved in this event. Art thou going?" requested Leo.

"I will look forward to that. Father, the initiates, they need thy help." replied Nick.

"I will be aware. Where is thy companion?"

"Maria is also here, leading the initiates to the chapel."

"Let me know when we are there, Nick. I'll follow her. By the way, the Cardinal wanteth to talk to both Maria and thee. Meet me at the recollection tomorrow."

"Yes, Father."

Leo rode on his horse to the chapel, upon seeing the initiates struggling even in Maria's presence.


	15. The Thirteenth

A night later, Nick and Maria solemnly came to the entrance of the cathedral. The priest Leo guided them.

However, Nick was somewhat distraught.

"Nick? What is wrong with thee, my brother?" Leo calmly asked him.

"I may expect... that the Cardinal will entertain me not as his guest... Look at me, Father... Who can accept a sin-stained demon like me?" replied the sorrowful Nick.

"Nick... all of us human beings are sinners, I know thou art aware. But, there is always time for each of us to change to a better human."

"How can I confront the Cardinal like this?"

"Just be thyself... and have faith. By the way, I am the one who will preside over this recollection ceremony."

It was later on that night when Nick and Maria bowed to the Cardinal.

"Come with me." said the Cardinal hospitably.

Inside the place where the Cardinal resided, he started the open discussion.

"Why I initiated this ceremony is because my fellow brother Leo hath contacted me that there are people who suffered from spiritual trauma and manipulation. There are also people who went astray and were lost without a guide. That is why Leo and I are here to guide thee to the good and right path." discussed the Cardinal.

"I see..." said Nick.

"So... before we begin, let us solemnly pray." initiated the Cardinal, leading a solemn prayer. However, Nick remained silently dazed.

After the prayer, the Cardinal instructed Maria and Nick to feel free to confess about their spiritual sentiments.

"Let me start with thee, man in black." pointing to Nick.

"Through my whole life, I was a source of every person's nightmares. This implies that I have massacred a large number of people who dared to cross my way. My conscience is of the evil, and my heart and soul are tainted with this mortal sin and this hatred. Sometimes, I am against the mentality these people believe; but they demand justice. I have realized... that I deserve to be condemned... with no mercy and no hope..." Nick expressed his sentiments, slowly getting mad of himself in return.

"What made thee act evil, killing the innocent and helpless without moral consciences? I believe thou art spiritually dead since then."

"How I acted dependeth on the judgements of the people. I even thought that I loath them, believing that they choose to be spilled in the unholy light from an unholy, yet unknown, deity. According to the people I confronted, non-believers deserve to be in Hell. I even told them that we have different beliefs so therefore we cannot force them to believe what they say. Who are they to judge? Who am I? But then, I encountered these people raising their prides. Since they are also sinners, they also deserve to be in Hell!"

"Thou treatest not anything as sacred, as I heard from thee. Why dost thou hate people?"

"Their minds are prejudiced, leaning towards jealousy, hypocrisy and negativity. Even if they try to think anything sacred and rational, they are still tainted by these!"

"From thy confession, thou art looking at the sinful side of the human beings, which is in fact true; but thou hast a big flaw as well. Thou didst not look at the bright side, despite them having inner demons just like us. Let me give you a spiritual advice, my brother. Thou deservest not to be in Hell. Rather, thou shalt find ways for them to win their trust in thee, and they will have faith in thee as much as we have faith in God."

Maria, in turn, professed, while the Cardinal witnessed the weeping rage Nick had.

"Nick... I understand why thou hadst sided with the sinful choice thou hadst made... but why? We know humans are sinners, and both of us are also humans, Nick. Canst thou not understand? Even if I am also an angel in thy presence, I am also a human just like thee! If thou art aware, I am hurt! I am hurt because I saw thee killing the innocent and the righteous just because to thee, their minds are prejudiced... I am hurt, too, if I saw thee releasing the beast violently at the ones putting a grudge on thee... Art thou not showing them mercy? Dost thou view them as sinful, hopeless creatures deserving a place in Hell? I know humans have this jealousy, hypocrisy, and negativity... but I beg thee please... Give them a chance to repent! We are all sinners, I know; but with God, He will not leave us, regardless of our sins. He loveth us as much as our family members do!"

"But He hateth sins, Maria. Who is willing to accept sinners?" replied Nick.

"I know God has commandments for all of us to follow. He wanteth us to love each other, and when we have committed sins, we need to repent and forgive!"

"Even if such sin I committed is grave and mortal?"

"Even I have sins, Nick. And to answer thy question, we can be willing to accept sinners, and God is also willing to accept sinners. God never spills unholy light to His believers, but He spills holy light that leadeth us the way to a spiritual and a moral change, from the darkness to the light. Nick, when darkness surroundeth thee, release the light in thee. Getest thou what I mean? Look at the bright side!"

Maria sobbed after her confessions at both Nick and the Cardinal. In return, the Cardinal wanted them to listen to his side.

"That... is... enough. Let me speak to thee. Maria is right. Even though we are all sinners, and we committed sins to ourselves and to the others, we need to forgive ourselves and them for those trespasses, and we also need to forgive those who committed sins against us. Sins are against the Lord's Word, but He is ready to forgive us, as much as we are ready to forgive ourselves and others in time. Forgiveness is a slow yet important process that we shall possess. As for thee, Nick, I beg thee please to follow the Fifth Commandment. Thou shalt not kill. For Maria, there are sentiments that Nick is truly observing. All I suggest is to make these negative ones be a motivation for us to change for the better. It meaneth we need to find a way for them to win their trust and have faith in us. Overall, humans have choices to decide the matter, so we first have to understand and respect them, and we will also give them pros and cons of such decisions made. But take note that with the presence of the Lord, everything good will be possible to achieve." spoke the Cardinal to them.

The Cardinal then started to narrate a biblical story.

"Let me tell thee a story, all about the conversion of Saint Paul."

* * *

 **Flashback (Biblical Story, the Cardinal's POV):**

 _Before he was converted, his given name was Saul. Born in the city of Tarsus, and schooled as a Pharisee, he was a tent-maker by trade._

 _But, he was noted for his hatred towards Christians; for he believed that the teachings of Jesus violated the Mosaic Law. Now, he was an aggressive persecutor of Christians, and he swore to wipe out the new Christian church called The Way._

 _With the authorization of the high priest, Saul obtained letters indicating that he will arrest those who follow Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God._

 _On the road to Damascus, a blinding light struck down Saul and his loyal companions, with the voice saying, 'Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?' Upon asking who spoke to him, the voice replied that He was indeed Jesus, the one Saul persecuted. He told him to go to the city and to do what he must do, and he was blinded._

 _A man named Judas led Saul and his companions to Damascus. However, for three days, Saul did not eat or drink, and he was still blind._

 _Meanwhile, Jesus sent Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to go to Saul. However, Ananias was aware that Saul was a merciless persecutor. In response, Jesus told him that he was his chosen instrument to deliver the gospel to the Gentiles, and the kings and sons of Israel._

 _Finding Saul at Judas' house, upon seeing him praying for help, Ananias laid his hands, telling him that Jesus sent him to restore his sight, and that Saul might be filled with the Holy Spirit. With this, Saul could see again. He rose up and was baptized into the Christian faith. After his conversion, he changed his name into Paul._

* * *

"Much like me, in an instance..." responded Nick.

"In here, the Lord sent Maria, Leo, and me to help thee change to a better man, just like He sent the disciples to the persecutor." informed the Cardinal.

"I see, it may be a hard time for me, but I will do my best to control myself."

"Time will tell, Nick. I cannot force thee to do so, but I encourage thee, and I advise thee to be a good Samaritan to the people around thee."

"It was until now that I realized that what I often did affiliateth the evil side."

"Nick, if I could repeat what I said, thou hast the power to change. How about thou wilt start thy affiliations of humanity, instead of thy affiliations with the Devil?"

"Trying is my only option here."

"I believe thou art a demon in their presence, Nick. Am I right? Being involved with demons is a bad idea. Summoning them is even worse."

"I see... Methinks that I will search for meaning and intent in this life I have."

"We will help thee. I promise thee that."

"My thanks, Father..."

Both Nick and Maria shook the Cardinal's hands and stood up, but the latter did not get his job done yet.

"Wait; there is something for thee to be strengthen thy faith in thyself, in others, and in God. Let me tell thee now." informed the Cardinal.

"What would that be, Father?" asked Maria.

The Cardinal prepared a sacred book and established a solemn prayer to the Lord, and afterwards, he turned to both of them and used his holy opportunity to speak for the second time.

Upon reciting the Desiderata poem, where the Cardinal was inspired by, a sacred magic was imbued in him, and he invoked...

* * *

 **Desiderata by Max Ehrmann (The Cardinal's Recitation)**

 _"Go placidly amid the noise and haste,_  
 _and remember what peace there may be in silence._  
 _As far as possible without surrender_  
 _be on good terms with all persons._  
 _Speak your truth quietly and clearly;_  
 _and listen to others,_  
 _even the dull and the ignorant;_  
 _they too have their story._

 _Avoid loud and aggressive persons,_  
 _they are vexations to the spirit._  
 _If you compare yourself with others,_  
 _you may become vain and bitter;_  
 _for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself._  
 _Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans._

 _Keep interested in your own career, however humble;_  
 _it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time._  
 _Exercise caution in your business affairs;_  
 _for the world is full of trickery._  
 _But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;_  
 _many persons strive for high ideals;_  
 _and everywhere life is full of heroism._

 _Be yourself._  
 _Especially, do not feign affection._  
 _Neither be cynical about love;_  
 _for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment_  
 _it is as perennial as the grass._

 _Take kindly the counsel of the years,_  
 _gracefully surrendering the things of youth._  
 _Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune._  
 _But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings._  
 _Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness._  
 _Beyond a wholesome discipline,_  
 _be gentle with yourself._

 _You are a child of the universe,_  
 _no less than the trees and the stars;_  
 _you have a right to be here._  
 _And whether or not it is clear to you,_  
 _no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should._

 _Therefore be at peace with God,_  
 _whatever you conceive Him to be,_  
 _and whatever your labors and aspirations,_  
 _in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul._

 _With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,_  
 _it is still a beautiful world._  
 _Be cheerful._  
 _Strive to be happy."_

* * *

The holy magic radiated the whole cathedral as Leo and the initiates started to make peace and forgive themselves and others. Meanwhile, the Cardinal closed his eyes and kept silent, as the purification spell towards Nick tried to weaken his demonic power.

 _"Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis._  
 _Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis._  
 _Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem."_

While the Cardinal invoked these words, the Shades that surprisingly infiltrated the cathedral vanished while screaming at their deaths.

The Khazra cultists outside the cathedral, who also attempted to interrupt the recollection ceremony for the initiates to be captured again, were blinded by the light.

"Somebody protecteth the initiates! Bring them to me! He will be treated as our offering!" demanded the Khazra cult leader, but was paused.

"There is nothing we can do, Master. We are all known by the townsfolk!" responded one of the disciples.

After the successful purification spell, Nick was at least weakened, but rays of light shone upon the cultists and Shades, summoning spears of embodied light in them.

The cultists, except the surviving leader, were stabbed to bloody death. The Shades screamed upon vanishing and fading away. After a successful divine spell, the sacred light faded and everything went back to normal.

"Now go, do what is good and right. With this, thou wilt know the true purpose why God sent us here in this world, and the true happiness it bringeth on thee." the Cardinal bade both of them.

Later, while the Khazra cult leader remained outside desperate of human sacrifices, Nick slowly went outside the cathedral, waiting for their next confrontation.

The bell rang, indicating that it was midnight, and in silence, Nick and the cult leader met again face to face.


	16. The Fourteenth

The next day, Nick met an angel that looked perfect in his eyes.

"Who art thou?" said he.

"I know thee, thou knowest me not; but I will tell thee about a Demon Lord's associations with the Khazra cult." replied the angel.

"A Demon Lord is behind this sacrifice?"

"Exactly, they intend to purge the world from evil, but behind this mentality is a dark secret."

"So the Devil sendeth a Demon Lord, who in turn disguised as the cult leader; and anyone who wanteth to join the cult needeth to sign a diabolical contract."

"However, they reveal to us the Grand Initiation, not behind it. They are charismatic - people really want to join this cult for untold power, in exchange of strong faith in the Lord and of the critical reasoning. 'Tis a difficult task, Nick. Many of the darkest evil acts are hidden behind the scenes. The Khazra cult will sever thy faith in exchange of fulfilling their vision."

"If I join them, they will control all of me. Is that what thou art trying to say?"

"On point, Nick."

"That is why I have to wait for that Grand Initiation, and I already warned them that I am watching."

"Convince them that no religion can save them."

"So be it. Now get away from me."

The angel faded through a bright ray of light, and a black angel was just in front of him watching.

"I'm warning thee, Prince of Darkness. Not all angels are good, not all demons are evil. It might be possible that the angel thou art confronting is actually a devil in disguise."

"Zen?" called Nick, upon seeing the familiar visage.

The black angel disappeared, as Nick was shocked of what he said. Nevertheless, he pursued to wait for the day the Grand Initiation rite will start.

The next day, Maria and Nick engaged in a conversation regarding the Grand Initiation rite.

"An angel sent thee?" asked she.

"Aye... However I never knew yet if he sided with the Heavenly Host or he actually is a demon from the Infernal Legion." answered he.

"I also experienced this case, Nick. There are angels who wish to disobey the Lord's commandments."

"And there are demons who choose to live in harmony with the humans."

"Nick, be not fooled. Thou know not if thou art manipulated by the Devil or not. But worry not, the Heavenly Host will help thee."

"I believe the Heavenly Host hath a grudge towards me. It is all on myself right now. Even humans can judge the way I look and act, without knowing the truth behind my choice."

"Nick, listen to me. I am here to help thee. We are both humans, but our spirits are on opposite realms. The Lord is a merciful and a just Supreme Being thou wilt meet, and in Him, we will know the truth behind anything we want to know."

"No religion can save me, Maria."

"But thy faith can, Nick."

Nick, now wearing a maroon frock coat with a black overfrock, black trousers, and a pair of black boots, unleashed his sword and went out of the chapel.

"I'll find a permanent shelter, not this. I'll be blamed for blasphemy if someone seeth me doing this..." said he, while the two ghosts vanished.

"I'll go with thee." encouraged Maria, who now wore a white dress with a turquoise blue bodice and a pair of ivory sandals.

Later, a parade of hooded peasants led by a black hooded cultist came during the initiation rite, and even one of the townsfolk in Caldeum did not spectate.

Nick and Maria spectated the initiation rite.

The Khazra cultists started a chant which began their solemn rite. This is where Nick started to move.

"We stand armed and dangerous before the bloody fields of history; devoid of dogma, but ready to carve, to defy the transient; ready to stab forth with our penetrative will..."

The initiates, who were unaware of the ritual, had the urge to escape from the clutches of the Khazra. However, they were still captured by the cultists.

"Ye dalcops..." cursed Nick, sneaking on the ceremony.

"Maria, this way." a ghost pointed to a safer place so that Maria could observe better.

The Princess of Light secretly grabbed Illumina, a heavenly bow, and continued watching the ceremony.

"I respect their faith; but if their way of worshiping is through human sacrifices, I will not accept." said Maria.

The initiates who resisted were placed on stone slabs, with their bodies chained around the slabs.

The cultists slowly slit the necks of the resisting initiates using special daggers, while the remaining initiates had their heads touched by the cultists, draining their thoughts.

An exploding fireball hit numerous cultists, forcing them to drop their daggers and search for the location where it was shot.

"What is happening?" said the cult leader.

"We are about to sacrifice these initiates, but somebody getteth in our way!" said a cultist.

"Leasing-mongers!"

The cultists used their daggers and even the Goatmen came to assist them. However, they still never knew where the fireball came from.

It was until a man in black with a pallid skin color and red eyes came in front of them.

"I know thee, Prince of Darkness..." said the cult leader, initiating a second battle.

The chains and fetters glowed in bright light and were shattered, releasing the captured initiates.

Holy spiritual arrows were fired and some of the cultists were shot in the heads. Blood flowed out from their heads and were blinded by the sacred light.

"Maria?" doubted the Prince of Darkness, who felt that he got few chances to strike.

"The cult leader ran away, after him!" replied she.

"Damn..."

"Thou canst not get in my way, fool!" said the cult leader.

"Unless I understood what thy religion hath explicated." countered Nick.

The cult leader was suddenly zapped. Upon his paralysis, Zen appeared.

"Let me help thee." said Zen.

Using his spiritual strength and instincts, Zen stabbed each Goatman with his claws. Nick ran away to chase the cult leader, who got up from his unconsciousness earlier.

But before the cult leader got his advantage over Nick, a dark mist surrounded him.

"Semper in te mala!" versed the cult leader.

"Et exocquam ad me." replied the slow dark voice.

"Tu quis es? TU QUIS ES?"

As the cult leader prepared his staff to unleash black magic, a demon grabbed his black cloak and pulled him.

The demon, using his sword, battered the helpless cult leader to death. Blood splashed from such brutal battering. However, the cult leader threw a dagger to the chest and started to escape again.

Long bloody wounds to the cult leader were unseen; but the demon removed the dagger forcefully and slowly walked towards him, even if blood flowed from his chest.

"Thou art tested, fiend. Hell awaits thee." said the cult leader, still running away even suffering the injury.

"Master of lies..." spoke the demon, who disappeared in black mist after the confrontation.

Meanwhile...

Blood flowed in the streets where the Grand Initiation took place. The initiates ran towards Maria.

"Believe me. May the Lord God bless each of thee. All He wanteth is for thee to have faith in Him, to love one another as ye love Him, and never to lose hope in any bad happening. I know thou hast sinned, but He wanteth thee to forgive and be forgiven. What people really want from thee is also what the Lord wanteth from thee. Remember that."

The initiates still doubted themselves. Some of them even bowed their heads down in despair.

"Their choices to join, their lives to sacrifice." said Zen, walking away but was stopped by the demon.

"Zen... I must thank thee for this..."

"Thank me not, Nick. I have reasons to help them too. By the way, the cult leader is assumed to be Belial, the master of deceit and lies."

"Doth the Devil summon him, or he is actually showing up?"

"I know not, but do not fool thyself. There may be Demon Lords lurking in Caldeum, and even in Zantrom. It's not only the Devil who attacked the citizens."

Zen left the place as Nick turned himself back to his human form.

Leo, riding a white horse, sent Nick a private invitation.

"Nick, I am sending to thee an invitation regarding a recollection. The Cardinal will also be involved in this event. Art thou going?" requested Leo.

"I will look forward to that. Father, the initiates, they need thy help." replied Nick.

"I will be aware. Where is thy companion?"

"Maria is also here, leading the initiates to the chapel."

"Let me know when we are there, Nick. I'll follow her. By the way, the Cardinal wanteth to talk to both Maria and thee. Meet me at the recollection tomorrow."

"Yes, Father."

Leo rode on his horse to the chapel, upon seeing the initiates struggling even in Maria's presence.


	17. The Fifteenth

Maria and Uriel surprisingly found Belial, the supposed Khazra leader, who carried a voodoo staff and a yellow gem inside the ram skull attached to his rod.

Uriel wielded a flaming sword, with its purifying flames burning radiantly.

"The Devil summoned thee, influencing the masses with his own language that thou canst understand. Thou blindest them from the truth and hidest them from the reality." said Uriel to the Demon Lord.

"What is truth for thee, archangel? The truth hurteth them; the truth bringeth them to their later misery. Thou understandest not, that the inhabitants in this world have come to believe in so many lies... hide in so many secrets... Where are the people that they can trust, in spite of such saddest truths they feared to tell?"

"And even in spite of such 'saddest truths they feared to tell', art thou aware that there are people who still believe in them, trusting them with all their minds and their hearts? They think, they say, they act, they know how to decide. However, such situations and consequences differ, but as they think, they are aware of it, and they are doing what is good and right to them and to others!"

"When there's a will, there's a way, archangel. The Devil still findeth more and more ways to give them their hearts' desires. Thinkest thou that God will give them everything they need? Look at them now. They thanked Him on their successes, they sought help from Him on their failures; but every single day, they set Him aside."

"They set Him aside, but they will never forget what He has done to them, to us, and even to you!"

"They show their appreciations and prides to God, but their self-centered prides dominate them more. They decide a good turn normally, but they decide an evil turn when under serious troubles. THAT... is reality."

Belial cast an unholy light beam on Uriel, who parried such magic.

"Embrace the reality, or find a way?" asked Uriel.

"There is no other way, archangel!" Belial replied proudly.

Uriel hurled shooting stars from Heaven, and cast them on Belial. Then, he stomped his sword to the ground and scorched the forest with light. The wisps from his body spiraled around the trees supposedly burned, which made them immune to fire.

On the contrary, Belial had his eyes glowed yellow, as the rocks on the ground were suddenly levitated. The wind around him blew harder.

The rocks revolved around Belial as he hurled them at the Archangel.

The wisps around Uriel collided with the hurled rocks and disintegrated them to fine pieces.

Belial was under attack by Uriel's "Flames of Wisdom and Truth", as the Archangel suffered pressure from the Demon Lord's gusts.

The Demon Lord of Lies instantly disappeared, and reappeared behind Uriel to deliver rising spikes of earth at him from his staff through his mind.

The Archangel of Wisdom countered it through his flaming column unleashed from his sword through his mind.

As Maria was with Uriel beforehand, she rushed to the sacrificial flame to find Nick. However, Gabriel and Satan were on a clash. Immense flames of Hell dominated her way towards Nick.

The two opposing angels flew towards the night sky, as the Khazra cultists panicked around the flame.

Maria fired three sacred arrows on the cultists who dared to capture and sacrifice her.

However, a loud screech resonated with the noises of the cultists. A strong wind blew the whole ritual area.

The Khazra cultists who were loyal to Belial slowly felt a burning sensation in their cloaked bodies.

Meanwhile, a falling fireball was seen from above, but both Satan and Gabriel were unseen.

The sacrificial flame exploded as a third demon emerged from it. That demon carried a cursed blade and hurled the flames of Hell towards the remaining cultists.

"Avaunt!" said the demon, who was Nick.

"Nick... thou comest back here. Dost thou still bethink thy charges against the Infernal Legion? I can still sue thee when I got the chance to put thee in the Lake of Fire!"

"How repulsive. Thou art ruling a wrong dominion!"

Nick, on his demon form, cast spiritual flames at the Lord of Darkness, accompanied by Gabriel's power of divine revelation.

"Let thy soul reside outside the abode of man, and let thy mind break thy connections with man! The dark reality may be accepted in this world, but what reigneth supreme is the reality of the Lord!" chanted Gabriel.

"How canst thou?" responded Satan, who screamed and was severely weakened by the divine light.

"Let fear not manipulate thee!" said Nick to Maria and Uriel, who was fighting against Belial.

A binding spell from Uriel forced Nick to deliver a coup de grace at the Demon Lord of Lies. However, the Prince of Darkness was not expecting something from him.

"He will still trick us," said Maria, as she foresaw Belial's transformation.

Belial disappeared through a black mist, corrupting himself and turning into a levitating demon with long, thin arms; a skull of a horned goat as his head, large tentacles on his lower body, with a gigantic human spine and rib as his trunk; large bat skeletal wings, and an encased demonic fell covering his shoulders and head.

Large rocks around him were levitated, spinning around him as he successfully altered the nature of reality itself. Trees were turned to ash, the cultists were disintegrated, the ground around him became quicksand, and the rocks formed a large circle in front of the demon and were infused with corrupted energy.

The souls of the Khazra cultists suddenly turned into numerous Shades and Inferi.

"Very well done. Now finish them in thy endgame. I will demoralize the minds of these angels and men, inflicting pain to them while bringing them into chaos." said the Devil, who was impressed.

Evil souls were released from the circle of stones, screaming in loath and spiraling around the Demon Lord; which invoked an explosion of hell-fire and brimstone.

Uriel telepathically protected Maria and Nick through a Soul Shield. However, Nick chose to sacrifice himself being burned in the hell-fire.

"I can do this. There is more to that fiend than just exorcising him." said the Prince of Darkness.

"Insolent creature!" warned Belial.

The remaining rocks exploded on contact with Nick, but were deflected by his cursed blade.

Meanwhile...

"We are not done yet, Gabriel. Thou art still inferior to me!" said the Devil.

As Satan focused on casting an unholy light beam on Gabriel, the angel of the Lord dodged and disappeared in a ray of holy light.

"I can be inferior to thee, but thou art inferior to our Omnipotent Father!" replied Gabriel, as he reappeared and cast divine flames on Satan.

The Devil collapsed to the ground and struggled to get up in place. However, his last move was to be banished in a demonic pentagram with runes and disappear. Gabriel was supposed to attack him but was met with a sinister laughter.

But Belial was still able to conjure an army of Shades, Inferi, and False Prophets.

"These Inferi that this demon conjured were evil warlocks, and thy sacred book saith that sorcery is of the Devil." analyzed Nick, but Uriel had plans already.

"Thou art one of their kind but thou choosest to betray them?"

"I have a will, and I have a reason to. And I can, even if it meaneth that I will dive in the Lake of Fire."

"Thy wish is our command. We will save thy soul, even if it meaneth releasing the darkness within thee," supported Maria, and Uriel also agreed on her decision.

"Thou art doomed!" Belial cast demonic marks at Nick, but he was immune to them since he was also a demon.

A spreading radiant light blinded the Lord of Lies, but even the Prince of Darkness was blinded as well. When this light faded back to normal, Maria was in her angelic form.

The Shades disappeared with no trace, but the False Prophets and the Inferi would be taken care of by Uriel.


End file.
